May 22, 2016
Today was an easy day of walking, with a relatively flat road (in Galicia there are always some rolling hills) and a distance of only 9.1 miles. We walked from Palas de Rei to Melide, halfway through Stage 31 of the Camino. The forecast was threatening rain today so instead of having a picnic lunch (which have been fabulous and rival the picnic lunches Backroads provides), we stopped at a restaurant in Coto for lunch. We're in octopus (or pulpa) country now, so of course that was our entree. Before that, however, we had a hearty bean, potato and kale soup accompanied by the delicious, crusty bread of the region. This was followed by a green salad and small roasted green peppers, which seem to be a specialty in the region. I enjoyed the octopus although it's not one of my favorite dishes, but at least it was very tender and not chewy as I had imagined it would be. This was followed by a delicious rice pudding for dessert. I swear I rolled, rather than walked, out of there.
We're also getting into a routine of stopping mid-morning at one of the many bars along the route for coffee and then at the end of the day stopping again for a sangria (if we're lucky enough to chance upon a bar that serves it) or any other type of alcoholic drink. Today we were lucky since Bar Chaplin served a delicious sangria.
We're in a new manor home tonight and tomorrow night and one of the perks is an on-site masseuse. I had my massage at 6:15 and it felt SO good. My legs and feet have been feeling good (I swear this Voltaren cream is doing wonders for my plantar fasciitis) so I had her concentrate on my neck and back which have started to knot up with the load of my pack on it every day (don't know how I would handle a full-blown backpack if I had to carry everything myself). Anyway, it was a great way to end another great day on the Camino.
Haha, this is awesome! Glad you tried the octopus and so funny that you were so full! Good thing you are doing so much walking!
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