Caldes de Reís to Padron – 18.8km, 4.5 hours, Friday, 27 September

We knew today was going to be a great walking day.  Although dark when we walked down the street to the cafe for a light breakfast, the skies looked clear.  The forecast was 0% chance of rain all day although there could be some clouds and strong winds. We were finally able to pack away all our rain gear with confidence.  As we were finishing  breakfast, we heard a giggling sound and we both turned around to see who it was.  No one was there but we pretty soon realized what happened.  God had seen our overconfidence and said “I can fix that” …. he made it rain despite the lack of clouds.

Along with everyone else in the cafe, we pulled out the rain gear and got it on with only a few seconds to spare – because that’s when the rain stopped.  Drats!  Now, I could take off the poncho but I had to carry it in case the rain returned.  Because of the backpack cover being on, I also had to carry my walking sticks too since I can’t strap them to my bag under the cover.  I finally put the poncho away around 11:30am since there were no rain clouds in view.  We caught a break for the next passing storm though. We were already in the outskirts of Padron when we could see the small rain cloud racing right towards us. We only had 30m to run to get inside a bar before we got completely drenched.  The vote was to have lunch there even though the rain stopped before we could order any food. Actually, it was more complicated than that but I’ll explain that later.  

The trail today was lovely in many sections and had nice views from the parts on backroads. There was plenty of natural trails through forests and farms.  I didn’t get many pictures of Melanie’s back today because she was behind me.  Melanie had gotten to talking to two women from the US who were friends and doing their first Camino together. It will also likely be their last together too since they were obviously having trouble getting along with all that a Camino can throw at you.  One of the ladies walks fast, hates stopping to rest and is having no issues with the physical demands of the walk.  The other has to walk slow, needs frequent long stops and her bag is really hurting her back. I understand that they had a bit of a row yesterday.  As a result, Melanie walked with the second woman while I walked ahead with  the first.  That kept them separated and gave them a chance to blow off steam.  As it turned out, it was a pleasant enough walk for each of us but the rain washed that all away.  The approaching micro-storm caused Melanie and I to decide quickly to stop at the nearby bar for food.   We asked them if they wanted to join us but there was no time for the usual “oh gosh, I don’t know” stuff.  The rain was now hitting us.  I think Speedy relented, knowing that Pokey would want to stop so she said okay – “Let’s eat”.  I said “Then we’d better run” and I led the way to the restaurant.  We got inside, shook off the water and found a table when we realized that Pokey wasn’t with us. Speedy looked out the door and saw Pokey still up at the corner where we were, looking confused and upset.  Apparently she didn’t hear the “Let’s run” command and she was looking the other way when we did run.  She had no idea where we all went and by the time Speedy rescued her, Pokey was soaked and angry, and giving Speedy a piece of her mind. 

Lunch conversation didn’t quite flow easily and they decided that it was best they walk the rest of the way into Padron by themselves. We wished them well and everyone is thankful they only have one more day of walking.  Let peace reign. 

By the way, we bumped into Jessica, Avis and Livia at that same corner where the rain clouds were bearing down on us. They had walked straight through O Porriño, doing a 34km day from Tui to Redondela so they were one day behind them. We did that too, ten years ago but we are wiser now.  After Redondela, they headed for the coast on a longer route, then they took a boat to Padron this morning, putting them back in the same city as us.   Due to the pending rain, our meeting was brief but I am sure we will see them on the trail tomorrow or at least in Santiago.

The trails were very crowded today.  Maybe it was the time we started or the rain, I don’t know but we were always within earshot of other pilgrims and often just following a crowd.  Amazingly, we also saw at least five or six blind people walking the Camino with walking partners.  We had a lot of rocky crossings of streams today too and it was hard enough for those of us who could see where to go. I was impressed by both the blind pilgrims and the guides. 

Pokey was keen to stop for a drink at the first available bar. The problem was that that bar had a queque of about 20 waiting to use the toilet and about 10 people in a separate queue for food or drinks.  As soon as one person stood up at a table, someone else would grab their chair.  “Overcrowded” was an understatement.   The place where we had lunch though was not crowded at all. I’m guessing that people just wanted to get to their accommodation as soon as possible. 

For dinner, we had paella for the first time on this trip.  For our friends  who are waiting for pictures of food, please Google “spanish paella pictures” .

Peace y’all. 

Goodnight George and Leo!