When we awoke there was no change in the weather; it was still pouring, and dark. I was quite relaxed but Leni had a race against time. Literally. She had to collect her wallet and if she did not make it in time for the only train scheduled for the return trip, we would lose a day.
She made it with ‘The Amazing Race’ type of frenzy: A trot to the train station, a train trip to the border, a bus trip into the fortress town, running to find the right place and person, identifying her wallet, signing for it, getting back to the train station in time to catch the only train back for the day. She just made the train and was back in Redondela by 12, wallet in hand and hugely relieved.
I just spent the time chilling, sitting in a shelter watching the passing parade. It was raining too hard to even think of exploring the town. I do think the rest was beneficial for my little toe though.
We hit the road after a sumptuous lunch and did a short 7 km walk, which included a steep uphill, to a coastal town called Arcade. What a charming place! Entering the town we even saw a wire giraffe in someone’s garden!
Pimientos de Padrón. Only about one in ten of the small green peppers from the Spanish municipality of Padrón, in Galicia, are wildly hot, while the rest are as mild as a green bell pepper. The exciting part is that it’s pretty much impossible to tell them apart until you actually put one your mouth. They are delicious!
Leni got bitten by bedbugs at our previous albergue so she was no longer so dead set on using municipal accommodation. We found ourselves a nice, spacious, modern, private albergue with good facilities and an excellent kitchen. I was not fussed about the kitchen though; I went out for dinner whenever there was a restaurant nearby. Leni had started eating ‘in’ most nights.
The weather showed signs of clearing so let’s see what tomorrow brings.
We are now (according to the guide) 84.3 km from Santiago!
