Day 32: Ventas to Melide (26.7km/16.6 miles)

April 24, 2017

I actually managed to wake up on time and leave on time today! I was hiking by 7am. It was such an easier day, and not as hot. All around a smooth day.

Since O Cebriero I have hiked the majority of the day alone. And today was no exception. Since I left so early I barely saw any other pilgrims. It was so calm, so quiet. After the 100km mark, the Camino gets SO busy. You only need to complete 100km to get a certificate and a lot of people just do it over a long weekend. Basically the last 100km can be very busy. But this morning was so peaceful.

After grabbing some breakfast at about 4.5 km into the day, I opened my post card/letter from Michel. Basically each day he asks me to do certain things. Yesterday he asked me to hug a tree and take a selfie. Today I had to create a rock tower (which I got confused and thought he meant a rock hill, haha) and spell out my name using my body. It made me laugh so hard trying to figure out how to spell my name. See below!

I managed to get to town pretty easily. The day wasn’t as hot so it felt a lot quicker. And I was surrounded by eucalyptus trees, what a lovely smell! The last coupe of kilometers felt so long only because I had to walk through the city which feels like forever when you don’t have soft ground under your feet.

When I arrived at the albergue I was so relieved to find it just as nice as the reviews indicated. It as a 100year old house converted into a hostel/albergue. It had a beautiful terrace outside and stone accent walls in the rooms. So cozy!

We went to get dinner and I got to try the famous octopus. It is the delicacy around here. It wasn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t order it myself. I don’t like fish, and octopus didn’t change that, hah!

I ended the night by watching the Lion King with Michel on his tablet and the beginning of Pocahontas, I definitely fell asleep about 30 minutes into Pocahontas haha! Just like my momma 😉 TV makes me sleep.

The next day would be a long 33 km, so I am grateful for such a lovely albergue! 💜

Cheers!
“A”