Day 15 Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis
Today was the longest schedule walking day of this trip - 13.5 miles. Not terribly long, but the forecast called for warm temperatures starting early in the day. Given the distance, without starting way before sunrise there was not much chance of beating the heat.
We started out by crossing the O Burgo Bridge over the Lerez River.
O Burgo Bridge
Lots of pilgrims on the Camino today. I told Sunita, trying to walk amongst all the people reminded me of navigating traffic on Milwaukee Ave in Buffalo Grove on a busy Saturday afternoon. Passing slower wakers, dodging bikes and watching for tripping obstacles took so much of my attention it was hard to enjoy the scenery. Also, once again the temperatures were over 29 Celsius by 10:30am.
Sample of the heavy foot traffic on the path today.
We stopped for breakfast and ended up sharing a table with a very nice couple from Montreal, Canada. Turns out they walked the French Way last year about the same timeframe we did, though they started few days after we did and finished a couple days before. They only took two down days the entire walk to nurse an ankle injury. We ran into them again in Caldas de Reis this evening at the church and compared schedules for the rest of our walk. They lined up pretty close, so hopefully our paths will cross again. I took a photo of them, but forgot to ask their permission to use it here, so I have not included it. So nice to meet such amazing people!
The congestion thinned out in the afternoon as people reached their destination or found cover in a cafe or bar from the heat. By the time we met Sunita, who in sound decision making had decided to not walk due to the length, heat and lupus, the temps had reached 33 degrees celsius. I was done LOL.
Olga walking under some Alvarinho grapes - which are used to make Sunita’s new favorite wine and a Galicia specialty
Rural Galicia home and garden area
Walking in the hot sun
Plaza and church in Caldas de Reis
We checked into our Albergue, showered, did some laundry then went for a walk to pick up a few things for dinner.
