The Longest Short Day

So the plan always was on this Camino that we would take short days. I’m not sure what happened today. This is what happens when I leave Francine in charge. (I kid, I kid!)

Today we walked 26 km. We’ve several longer Camino days over the years, but that was not the plan for this year.

Oh, well.

Today was a seemingly endless procession of tiny hamlets, Romanesque churches, forests, and hills and dales.

We also walked through Palas de Rey, named for having hosted one of the last Visigothic kings of Spain 1500 years ago.

Other than the wonderful Church of San Tiriso, this is one of my least favorite towns. The outskirts are sort of the Poconos of the Camino, and the town center is relentlessly over-commercialized.

Following our death march, we ended the day in Melide visiting churches and finishing up with a wonderful meal of pulpo, patatas, and pimentos de padron with some wonderful new friends from Sweden and Canada.

(Originally posted to Pilgrims on the Way.)