Day 8: Porino to Redondella

This had a few VERY steep downhill sections – real knee killers. Other than that, my fitness and endurance are on a whole ‘nuther level than when I started 8 days ago – so the ole bod is doing just fine.

Mr. Blister and Sister Blister have almost disappeared. That has its pluses and minuses.

Plus? Healing is great and fewer bandages means less hassle in the morning.

Cons? Those bandages could be protecting me from getting NEW hot spots, so I need to be careful (and attentive) in the next few days so I don’t have any more problems.

Marie and I enjoyed vino blanco last night, she more so than I, lol. We had a blast just hanging out, enjoying the evening in Porino.

We are DEFINITELY in tortilla country, and I LOVE me some tortilla (remember, that’s not a flat bread à la Mexico – it’s more like a potato/onion quiche.)

We stopped at a little cafe/bar just before the steep downhill and had a snack at about 2:30 today. As we left, I asked the barkeep how much farther it was to Redondela where we are staying tonight. When he wiggled his hand in the air and said “mmmm…5k”, I couldn’t contain my resounding YESSSS! Fist pump and all (lol). The bar full of pilgrims and locals laughed and celebrated with me.

I sang in another chapel in Redondella. I waited until it was empty besides Marie and me, moved to the darkened rear of the chapel and sang the Ave Maria. During the song, a pilgrim came in and sat down. As I left, she kindly thanked me and said it was a blessing for her Camino. If only she knew how much her words blessed ME.

Met a Russian gal along the way today, she was super nice. Met some nice Canadians, told them how nice it is to have such great neighbors to the north. They were nice. If you know any Canadians, you get it.

I’ve only received one scowl from a person when I mentioned being from the States. He was a local, a Spaniard. That’s OK… these are challenging times. He’s entitled to his opinion.

Walking, I snapped a photo of a couple walking holding hands… they turned around to walk back to some benches we passed and I offered to send them the photos. They are Wendy and Englebert from errrr…. Nederland? Holland? I forget. Anyway, we walked into our Albergue for the night and guess who we saw? Yep.

We also ran into Alexandra from England, a delightful 20-something Brit from Manchester. we met her at our albergue near Porto days ago. Very friendly, very pretty, studying French and Spanish at “Uni” (university).

Had to wait about an hour for our bags to be delivered. That was a bit of a knuckle-biter. If the bag gets mis-delivered, we are in a world of hurt … but of course, when we got back to our Alburgue after a little afternoon snack, there they were! Our mochillas (backpacks)! Wahoo!

I’m resting now as Marie has agreed to babysit our laundry.

Marie has become a real pro at managing her daily walk. She can now take off her jacket, wrangle her rain poncho, hydrate, manage poles and all of that without missing a step!

My new phrase: “It’s a challenge not a hardship.”

Did I mention I’m on the top bunk in the Albergue tonight? I am. On the top bunk. I learned how to make my bed while IN it at church camp 50 years ago. Came in handy today, LOL!!!

That’s all for now… we might venture out again around 7-8pm for a light snack b4 bed. Here are today’s pics…

Redondela at last! 😉

Ultreia!

Cheers, V