Last night we were in in Padron at Casa Antigo de Monte, a “rural” hotel. Not really rural, but it is off the beaten path, such as there is, in this little city.
But we’ll take more “rural” any day if it’s like this. It’s quite the compound, if there are a few too many stairs for my liking.
We had a rest day in Pontevedra and, much like our last rest day, that’s what we did – rest. That, and laundry. But we did get to explore the town center a bit. We’re finding we kinda prefer the smaller towns really. They seem just a bit more manageable. Not as much to see perhaps, but you get to see more of what’s there.
Anyway, the last few days walking through Spain have been some of the best we’ve had. There have been some hills to overcome, but much of the time we are walking through little hamlets or shaded forest trails, passing small rils and brooks, and the occasional fountain.
Splashing your head and neck in a cold fountain tucked in a shady copse of woods on a hot afternoon is delightful.
We’ve gone from Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis, to Padrón, and now are in Teo. The increased number of peregrinos on the road means we’re meeting and chatting with a lot more folks than we had been earlier on our walk. So while not as contemplative as earlier, it’s a lot more social.
Today’s walk was a good one, more pavement, but through small hamlets and vineyards rather than highways and big cities.
There have been ups and downs of course. There is one group we occasionally encounter that loves to sing pop songs, but just the bad ones, at the top of their lungs and too often out of key with one another.
We hurry on in those instances.
Tonight we are in another Casa Rural, Vella da Rivera, that should be quiet and dark–until around 6 am, when the other pilgrims begin rousing, grabbing their backpacks and going the last eight miles. We are not that ambitious and will be enjoying our coffee under this grapevine-covered pergola before embarking on the last leg of this journey.
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