As Andy Williams famously sang:
Almost there, we’re almost there
And soon we'll find
Our paradise, paradise so rare
Have a beer, a Camino beer
And close your eyes, for we're almost there
There was a sense of euphoria in the air today. Santiago tomorrow and a relatively easy walking day ahead of us today. And the sun was promising to be our companion all day long today.
We set off at six thirty five this morning, almost immediately bumping into Lars and Inger (Sweden) with whom we walked, on and off, throughout the morning. We like walking with them and we like walking just the two of us so the on and off worked well for all concerned.
Our first coffee break at half past seven in the village of Pregontoño, sat in the garden of a bar as the early morning sun made its appearance from over the hill behind us. We walked on in the company of Lorraine (UK) with whom we have been seeing on the road over the last few days. All that chatting made me thirsty so, having linked up with Lars and Inger again, we stopped at a bar between Boavista and Salceda and I treated myself to a little beer. It was nearly ten o’clock after all.
After that it was heads down and beat the heat. The walking conditions underfoot continued to be kind and the anticipated ups and downs were nowhere near as hard as yesterday. And of course the Galician countryside continued to wow as it has done all week. We arrived in O’Pedrouzo at half past twelve and checked in to our very nice room at the weirdly named NOJA Rooms.
We were in no rush. After showering and washing sweaty socks and shirts, it was hunger that encouraged us out of the room. We found a nice looking place with huge gardens and huge tables. I went to the bar. No service at the bar. Garden service only. We sat at the end of an eight person bench where two guys were sat at the other end. Waiter runs over. “No sit there”. Why not? “Only one ticket per table”. Eh? So if one person, on their own, sits on an eight person bench, no one else can sit there. Even if that one person fancies a bit of company. Sounds pretty stupid to me. We moved to an empty eight person bench. We left five minutes later. I want a beer when I want a beer, not when some waiter decides he can be arsed to serve us.
We found a less attractive bar on the Pedrouzo main road. We had two beers in front of us in two minutes and we ordered food with the second round of beers. Delicious. Up yours trendy garden bar.
We then took a stroll and found another main road bar with seats in the shade. All this wanting to sit in the sun and after two minutes it had proven too hot to handle. Lars and Inger joined us.
At the end of the day, we are of course on a pilgrimage so I especially wanted to see the local church. That’s just the kind of bloke I am. And where you find a church? Correct. You usually find a pub or (in Spain) a bar. And we found a little gem. The albergue Santaia en Casal de Calma had a garden as wonderful as the albergue name suggests. The four of us celebrated with a bottle each of the Estrella Camino de Santiago cerveza. And then we did it again.
Eventually our Swedish friends decided that they needed to go find some food but we stayed put, preferring to remain on the Camino de Santiago because we’re diligent like that, even if Mrs C did eventually move on to the vino tinto.
And that’s how we spent our last night proper on the Camino. Tomorrow, with temperatures forecast to hit thirty two degrees by mid afternoon in Santiago, we will go with the early morning start again which should see us arrive at the Cathedral at or shortly after noon. For now, it’s bedtime. And we’re nearly there.
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