Redondela to Caldas de Reis

Today was such a beautiful day that I just couldn't call it a day at 1 pm when I reached Pontevedra like the guidebook suggested. It was an interesting place but also very noisy and busy like most cities. Since it was still so early in the day I booked ahead for a room and pushed on to Caldas de Reis. It was a good decision because it will get me to Santiago one day sooner. I'm going to need a few days off my feet so they can heal up enough for the New York City Marathon. My blisters are healing now that my shoes are staying dry, but my toes are all swollen and my feet really ache. I will lose a few toenails in the near future.

Most of today's journey was along peaceful mountain trails. There were small creeks and rivers all around the trails. They were all running quite full too after the recent rains. It was quite warm most of the day but the trees gave lots of shade and the water made it feel cooler, especially when there was a slight breeze.

I saw a few other pilgrims today. I walked a mile or two with an interesting man from Ireland who had walked several of the Camino routes.

There is a tiny cafe in a place called San Amaro. They are so friendly there. They gave me a scallop shell as a gift and stamped my pilgrim passport. I had a very refreshing can of Coca Cola while I was there.

Today was a really long one because I combined two stages from my guidebook. I walked a full 26 mile marathon in distance. It's a lot easier to run a marathon in 5 or 6 hours like I do, than it is to walk that distance over rough trails, up over small mountains, in the heat, and carrying a backpack. I walked for 11 hours. I was glad to finally arrive.

I will walk to Padron tomorrow and the next day I will reach Santiago. Both are relatively short days so my feet will appreciate them.