Days 30 & 31 Palas de Rei to Arco

Day 30 Palas de Rei to Ribadiso 

Well we left Palas de Rei a little disheartened. I think I might have mentioned this before but many people join the Camino for the last 100 km. There is nothing wrong with this but these people have not learned the ettiquette of the road yet and are simply on a different plan. For the last few nights people have come in drunk late at night  No one knows what an inside voice is or that it is rude to have conversations on the cellphone in a bunk room of 40, and everyone seems to pack all of their belongings first into crinkly plastic grocery bags before stuffing them in their backpacks. Sleep and morale have suffered. 

Galecia is the state we pass through and it is famous for its octopus dishes. In the picture above you can see how an old lady on the side of the trail was preparing one for the lunch crowd. 

We spent the last hour or two walking with an Israeli farmer need Tomer. This guy could point out ever plant along the way that one could eat. We asked question after question and heard what he thought about the state of our food production and what it means to be organic. We yearn to have a garden and to have land and work it is a big goal of ours. 

When we arrived in the village of Ribadiso (4 houses), we were excited to see that the alburgue was a restored farm situated directly on a river. We soaked our feet in the river. The water was ice cold and literally hurt our feet to put them in. It sure got the blood to our feet though. We spent 30 minutes stretching in the grass next to the river. I went to the field out back and found an apple tree and shook it until it gave me an apple. We met a young Japanese kid ( first time to leave the island) and a Danish guy named Jonas. We all found a common thread in talking about Legos, which are made in Denmark and translates to " play good."   We ate octopus and went back to our bunk room in the farmhouse for sleep. 

Day 31 Ribadiso to Arco 

We took an hour long coffee break this morning. We found every excuse to delay our starts. Maybe we are finish lining but morale stays low. We had lunch at a converted house to sandwich bar. Two ladies behind the counter had unrivaled energy and ran a little comedy routine while taking orders. They had great energy. 

The last two hours we walked through eucalyptus forests. If you tear up the leaves it smells so good. I picked a bunch and kept them with the idea of making a eucalyptus foot bath next time I have a plastic tub and hot water available. 

Tomorrow is the big day. We are within 20 km of Santiago and we plan to be there by 11 am tomorrow to attend the midday mass. This requires a 6 am start so I will sign off now.