Under the Milky Way 27: From Palas de Rei to Castaneda

June 24, Saturday, Day 27, Palas de Rei to Castaneda, about 23.2 km.

I planned on walking one village less than what the App had suggested. Slowing down, savoring it… The App showed more villages and towns along the way, and the trail surfaces – were nice and easy.  

(Image collage compiled with screenshots from an App)

My bed last night was in a room of 14 people, with some vacancies, only 8 occupants. Snoring was not that bad, yet the kitchen noises began early. I was woken up at 5:15am, silverware scraping dishes (during eating), cups and mugs touching the glass table surface, chairs pushed away and back, faucet running while washing dishes… I refused to get up, tried hard to fall back to sleep, clinging to the bed tighter, closer, to no avail. Worse yet, the harder I tried to fall back to sleep, the more awake I became. Come on, just a little more sleep, 15 more minutes, please... That would do wonders!! Yet my roommates began to move about, too.

O well, I might as well join the gang! 

I was out walking at 7am. It was a hot day today – 91 degrees high (about 32.8 degrees celsius. We must be hit by a heat wave. Now I understand why some people got up at 4am for the walk! Extra attention today on the water supply, suncare, etc. Starting from Sarria, I saw the milestones far more often, quite a few of them within a mile, sometimes.  

Beautiful sceneries along the way from Palas de Rei already. The early morning air was cool, crisp and comfortable, birds chirping, singing their (always) original songs. 10am, time for breakfast.

So many amazing and fun things to see – living and nonliving.

The online sources mentioned the ancient medieval bridge here. I realized then and there I was in another province! How magical it was – in modern society, with advanced technology, fast-pace and efficiency being the norm, my feet had taken me from one country to another, crossing provinces and through various terrains!!  

Melide is a big city (2021 population: 7,437; area: 101 square kilometers) (online source). So many people recommended the local delicacies (octopus and Santiago cake) in the general region of Galicia. An elderly pilgrim passed me by, and informed me of the remaining 10 kilometers I needed to cover for today. Mental notes taken...

I left my trail runners behind in an albergue two nights ago (So forgetful nowadays). I called the owner of the albergue to see if I could somehow get them back via transportation service. He assured me to have them delivered in the next day or two! A Camino angel indeed, who was willing to go extra miles to help! Luckily, the trail surfaces for today and the next were relatively flat, and hiking sandals would do. 

Super hot!! I didn’t see many pilgrims walking any more. They must have completed their walk for the day – how wise to have started very early, as early as 3 am today, I heard.

 Furelos, about 13 km done today. The ancient Church of Santa Maria looked small but quite exquisite.

1pm, unbearably hot! I thought I could tolerate hot days, like camels, yet this “real test” revealed that my endurance of heat was still lacking!! Perhaps some snacks might help when the heat was so overpowering…
Some teen hikers were on a week-long field trip on the Camino, and found solace and joy in the water fountain in town – what a relief from the heat to get soaked! I was impressed by a young man who was still in the mood to play guitar music under the sun. What amazing tune he played!

Quite a steep ascent and descent later, I found myself breathless. Google Maps said that I would arrive at my destination in 15 minutes, less than one (1) km. 

As I tried to catch my breath, many thoughts came to my mind. I turned to the side of the trail and sat down for a quick break :-) ----
If You Have Not ... ----
If you have not experienced discomfort,
How do you know what "being comfortable" really means?
If you have not experienced darkness,
How do you feel the "delight" when you see light?
If you have not experienced sickness and suffering,
How do you know the true blessings of good health and pure joy of accomplishment?
If you have not experienced bitterness,
How do you know the meaning of sweetness?
If you have never fallen,
How do you know the feeling of triumph when rising back up?
If you have not experienced setbacks, failure,
How do you know the true meaning of success?
If you have never experienced rejection,
How do you know what it is like to be accepted?
If you have never experienced despise,
How do you know what it is like to be equal, to be respected?
If you have never experienced denial,
How do you know what it is like to be granted a wish?
If you have never experienced prejudice,
How do you know the genuine feeling of pride?
If you have never felt "low",
How do you know the sense of confidence one must gather to get "up there" again?
If you have never listened to others,
How do you know when you are listened to?
If you have never experienced empathy,
How do you show empathy to others?
If you have never experienced responsibility,
How do you know how to shoulder it?
If you have never experienced commitment,
How do you know when it is time to give up?
If you have never experienced love,
How do you know what real love is?
If you have never experienced cruelty,
How do you know the true pleasure of kindness?
If you have never experienced betrayal,
How do you appreciate trust?
If you have never experienced instability,
How do you treasure normalcy?
If you have never experienced friendship,
How do you provide friendship to others?
If you have never known a person,
How do you know who that person is, what she/he does?
If you have not...,
How do you...?

Around 2pm, I finally arrived! I reserved a bed in a room for 6, but no one else showed up. I got so much space all to myself – lucky me! It turned out to be a grand idea to stop at a place off typical stages sometimes, at least less competition for beds! I was delighted to be the sole occupant in the room! I looked forward to a long night’s peaceful sleep with no snoring around!! Feeling grateful…
It got rather hot, walking under the sun, feeling the heat all around, as if one was being broiled and baked in all directions! Glad that I had arrived already. I sat in the foyer outside of the cafe, waiting for my dinner, and resting, but could smell the heat coming at me. At around 4pm, two roommates of mine from two nights’ before showed up in the foyer, faces red from the heat, T-shirts soaked from the walk. They bought some iced drinks from the cafe, rested a little, chat with me a bit, and continued their walk. They had five more kilometers left. 

Around 6pm or so, a family of 8 people came to the cafe. Their three generations were walking the Camino, grandpa being over 80 years old, and the youngest 6 years of age. Due to the extreme heat, and there was hardly any shade along the path, the family decided to let the grandpa and the youngest take a taxi to the day’s hotel, while the rest of the family would walk the rest of the way, 5 km.

The chef for the cafe was sick for the day. The guests in the albergue had the choices of sandwiches and salad for dinner. My dinner – salad and Santiago cake. Contentment soaring…

It got a little chilly towards dusk. I walked around town alone, embracing the entire little world of mine there. It was so quiet, far over the hills, the sun was about to set any minute. During that brief moment, in that small place, I watched the sun going down slowly and peacefully, and yet no lack of energy, and full of charm, brilliance, sacredness and hope. I felt extremely fortunate to be there, and to be able to walk the Camino.

The sun just set, but “[T]he sun also rises” the next day, and the day after. 

Keyword:
Always Grateful