The penultimate day of walking

We had to be up early the following morning, to find a bar open to have breakfast.  We had finished the jam the day before, and I didn't want to buy another one just for one day.  There was a bar right on the Camino that was serving coffee and toast, which was what we wanted.  We had al slept slightly better, and so were moving slightly better than the day before, however, we were still on the slow side.  Five weeks of walking was catching up with us.  

We arrived at the first village after less than an hour, it was 3.5 km, and it was too soon after first breakfast for second breakfast.  I checked the guidebook, which suggested that in 1.7 km there was a village with 2 cafe/bars, so we waved at the Danish people who were having coffee there and walked on.  This proved not to be the best  decision, because one bar in the next village was shut and up for sale, and the other didn't seem to exist.  Rather than go of the Camino, we checked the book, and decided to walk on to the next village, Salceda, in the hope of finding something there.  We began to sow down, and so the Danish people, Annette and Rune, caught up with us, as we were admiring a beautiful garden, with huge fuchsia bushes.  Nico and I stopped to take a photo, they did as well, but their pace was much faster than ours, and they were soon ahead of us.  

We joined them at the first cafe in Salceda, where I got a piece of tuna empanada for second breakfast, as I needed the protein.  The boys were soon drooling over it, even though they had their napolitanas.  I gave them a small piece, and they then decided that they wanted a piece each of the meat empanada for later, so Jonathan went back and bought 2 pieces "para llevar".  

With those tucked away in a back pack, we started on our way and made it to the next village in another hour, where I needed and urgent comfort stop.  I ran inside with Jonathan in my wake, and told him to get me a beer and him and Nico something.  The facilities were through a very pretty, peaceful, shaded garden area,  but the boys stayed out in the front right on the main road.  We met up with Annette and Rune again, although they were about to finish and move on, as they were planning to reach  Santiago that day.  We only went on another 4 km or so, to Arco do Pino Pedrouzo, although we didn't check the guide, and made the walk about 1km longer than we needed to, by continuing on the Camino, instead of turning off into the town.  It turned out to be a good thing, because the first hostel we came to was air-conditioned, cool, small and friendly.  We were among the first to arrive, so we got pretty good beds, and I showered and lay down.  I was soon fast asleep, and only vaguely remember Nico doing my washing, and the boys taking their empanadas for lunch. I slept for about 2 1/2 hours, which was just what I needed. 

 The boys also rested, and then a little while later, we went out to look for somewhere to have dinner.  As we arrived at the first bar, we met Mark and Michelle and an Australian girl called Laura who we're having a drink there.  They invited us to join them, which we did, and after a while we all went to a restaurant for dinner.  It was a lovely meal with great conversation.  So,dhow during the meal, the boys decided that getting up early and getting to Santiago for the midday mass would be a good idea, as they heard that the big incense bowl was going to be used.  With that in mind, we headed back to the albergue for as early a night as we could get, knowing that we had 20 km ahead of us the following morning.  Just to add to this entry, the desserts were superb, a chocolate mousse cake and something called tarta de oruja, which is a bit like a cheese cake, that melted in the mouth and were finished before I could get a photos to share!