I awoke very early, but after the best sleep in a few nights. The double set of windows had done an amazing job of blocking out the noise from the hotel restaurant below. We breakfasted in the hotel cafeteria - no getting wet - and it was great. Our usual toast and coffee but with a small glass of orange juice and some churros brought to us, on the house. So a very good deal for €7.
The rain really picked up after breakfast so we didn’t rush our departure, lingering to dry my still slightly damp boots with the hair dryer and trying to fix my broken sun glasses with duct tape—not very successfully, as you can imagine.
The day got off to a busy start with throngs of pilgrims crossing the bridge to leave Pontevedra, the most we’ve seen so far. It was a lovely day, mostly on a broad path in the woods which was covered in fallen oak leaves and sometimes chestnuts. We saw Richard en route which was nice.
The rain came in short, very intense bursts, so while there was a lot of on and offing of the ponchos, there was also a lot of ducking under trees or building overhangs to escape the worst of the downpours and that worked well keeping us pretty dry.
The day seemed a day of running water—so many small waterfalls and creeks and all so full. We were also close to train tracks in a way we haven’t been much on this camino.
Our hostel (Estrella Do Camiño, €41) was located on the far edge of Caldas de Reis and mostly empty, although it’s beautiful. We decided it was a good night for cooking and the Día – luckily not too far – was well enough stocked with everything we needed for pasta, as well as flan for dessert. We also picked up bread and membrillo for breakfast so we could eat here in the morning and then rejoin the camino just a block or so back—excellent!
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