Although I was tired after the long walk from Lugo to Melide, a good dinner and a good night’s sleep works wonders, and the following day, I was ready to go again. With only about 50km to go, and three days in the schedule to do it, there would be no more hard days.
Melide is where the Camino Primitivo meets the Camino Frances, so the route from Melide is much busier. There are tour companies that take people from the 110km point on the Camino Frances into Santiago. The walkers get their baggage moved each day to the next point, and the walkers are then easy to spot as they only have small rucksacks. The long distance walkers carry a larger load.
There were only 14km to go to my next stop, Arzua, so I left Melide a bit later than most of my morning starts. There were already walkers ahead of me, as I left the town.
The route goes through woodland and farmland, always with a steady stream of walkers, all going in the same direction. It feels strange to be part of so many, after days spent largely alone on other parts of the route. But that is how it is, and we all just kept going.
I stopped briefly in Boente. The Iglesia de Santiago was open and offers a stamp on the pilgrim passport. In the last 100km, one is supposed to get two stamps per day, so one during the day, and one at lodgings is the norm. The Iglesia gave me my daytime stamp. Then I continued on again.
My next stop was Ribadiso. On a warm day, with only 14km to go to Arzua in total, and all day to go there, I decided to stop for a beer in Ribadiso, and just watch the pilgrims go past. But after the beer, I went on, continuing along the trail. I reached Arzua about lunchtime and made straight for the main square where the restaurant offered lunch. Arzua is a small town with interesting streets, and after lunch, I had a pleasant afternoon walking around.
My total step count for the day was 30,356.
Walkingman 