Coming into Their Own and Scattered to the Wind : Ferreira to Arzua

When we opened our door this morning we were greeted by a very dark, cool, overcast morning and it was obvious it had recently rained.  We headed across the small brick courtyard to the main house, where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast of fresh squeezed orange juice, café con leche, and American style toast and jam.  We were joined by six other pilgrims, none of whom we recognized.

 

 

We headed out around 7:30 am, ready to enjoy the last few kilometers of the Camino Primitivo.  In total we walked 33.3 km today, with the first 19 km being on the Camino Primitivo and the last 14 km being on the Camino Francés.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our time on the Camino Primitivo, and although we knew a change was coming when we reached the more popular Camino Francés route, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this change.

 

 

The first few kilometers were a very pleasant walk through country lanes and down narrow, winding, paved roads.  We passed through several small hamlets and villages, with the typical Galician homes that have rounded stone walls and slate roofs.  Lush green hills and pastures separated the small communities, and we passed through several forest stands filled with huge old trees or stands of spicy smelling eucalyptus.

 

 

Last night's rain had really brought the landscape alive.  Lots of birds were feeding young, flitting busily in and out of hedgerows and shrubs and frantically searching for food to bring back to their nests.  Large brown tree snails and huge black slugs were making their way across the path, and over the low stone walls. Clear raindrops hung from the tall grasses and clung to the leaves at the edges of the trail.  The young ferns, thick mosses, and new tree leaves all seemed to be glowing bright green, and we noticed rows of brand new seedlings just sprouted in the rich dark brown earth of the fields.  The world felt fresh and full of life.

 

 

As we passed through the villages the Camino seemed to have a more noticeable presence.  Small touches like handmade coloured tiles with pilgrims or shells embedded in gateposts and walls, rows of pink and red geraniums and other colourful flowers along the path, and shaded rest areas beside small streams clearly marked the route.  We also noticed a marked increase in the number of people walking the trail relative to earlier stages.

 

 

Although we saw many new faces on the trail, we also ran into a few familiar friends.  We found ourselves walking behind Ronnie for most of the morning.  She is vegan, and after eating a proper (and highly recommended!) meal for the first time in many days at the vegetarian albergue last night she was full of energy and really rocking the trail.  She was amazed at how much of a difference it makes to eat well while hiking, and how she hadn't even realized just how exhausted she'd become.  We have felt this way before too.

 

 

After passing through the small town of As Seixas we began a long steady climb up to Sierra del Caréon.  The hills around us were shrouded in cloud, and as we climbed the winding dirt track we walked up into the clouds.  The hills around us were covered in yellow blossoms of gorse and broom, and rocky promontories rose up above us out of the mist.  Even with the wooshing of the wind turbines crowning the top of the highest ridge it felt wild, remote, and magical up there.

 

 

As we made our way along the path we spotted Ben hiking up the steep slope behind us looking determined and moving fast.  It has been wonderful to see Ben, Ronnie, and others really come into their own on this Camino.   Watching their transformation from uncertain, slightly shy walkers into confident, accomplished hikers who have navigated some really tough terrain, while also tackling personal fears and challenges, is wonderful.  It is a shame that we are so close to the end already, and they don't have more time to realize how far they've all come in such a short time.  Ben passed us with a cheerful wave and disappeared over the horizon!

 

 

As we descended the hill we could see a line of hikers stretching out in front of us on the paved track.  A patchwork of green and brown pastures and fields blanketed the rolling hills around us, which disappeared into the misty distance.  Ahead of us we could see the large white city of Melide spread out in the valley below.

 

 

Around 10:35 am we reached the tiny town of Irago de Arriba, where we stopped for a café con leche and a croissant, both of which were delicious.  We were only about 6 km from Melide, and we had been seeing a lot more pilgrims walking, many carrying day packs, and all looking very clean.  While the café was lovely, it was completely full of pilgrims, and it was obvious that no local would ever set foot in there.  It was clear the experience was already changing.

 

 

As we walked into Melide we enjoyed seeing the bright pink blossoms of azaleas and rhododendrons, the white blossoms of apple and orange trees, and the abundance of yellow gorse and broom.  We were also amazed by the size of the lobed cactuses, spiky agave plants, and huge palm trees.  Together with the eucalyptus and palm trees there was an impressive diversity of plant life.

 

 

Eventually we found ourselves at the outskirts of Melide, walking along a busy road on a tiled sidewalk in a modern and nondescript suburb.  Suddenly we rounded a corner and walked into the main square of Melide.  We hadn't remembered much of Melide from our walk along the Camino Francés up until this point, but the old stone church with its bell tower and the stained glass cross in its door brought back good memories of events and people from our first Camino.

 

 

We took a moment to silently say goodbye to the Camino Primitivo, and then continued through the town, now following the Camino Frances. It was immediately obvious that things had changed.  We found ourselves descending out of town on a crushed stone dust trail in the midst of a group of people.  Another large group was sitting along the edge of a fountain, having a break. 

 

 

While our first steps along the trail already felt overwhelming, it wasn't until we rounded another corner that we spotted the true nature of the change that had just occurred.  A solid mass of people extended out in front of us as far down the trail as we could see.  We'd seen vlogs showing these kinds of crowds, but assumed they didn't occur until July and August!

 

We took our place in the cue, adopting the pace of the walkers ahead of us.  In retrospect I think we may have just had poor timing, and walked into the middle of two tour bus groups.  We were completely surrounded on all side by a slow moving group of people with very clean cloths, no packs, and quite a quite a bit of Camino themed apparel. They were mostly speaking German to each other, and were clearly travelling together.

 

 

It was clear we had just become part of a group activity.  We were no longer on our own Camino, but rather part of something else.  While there is nothing wrong with group hiking, it simply isn't our thing.  Luckily for us, we spotted a complimentary/alternative route almost right away.  The detour added 2 km to our hike, and we were the only ones on the peaceful, quite, wooded road. 

 

As we approached the point where we rejoined the main trail we could see the line of hikers across the field.  We took our place back in the cue, and continued on to Boente.  There was a nice little German Albergue there where we stopped for another café con leche. As we sat on the outdoor patio we saw several other hikers who looked dirtier, more sunburnt, and just about as overwhelmed by the crowds as we did, and they seemed to give us an unspoken acknowledgement.

 

 

 

 

Shortly after we left the café it began to spit rain again.  It had been doing this on and off all day.  However, we noticed that quite a few pilgrims were picked up by their tour buses, presumably because of the miserable weather, but possibly it was just because they had completed that day's stage. Regardless, while the trail remained much fuller than the Primitivo was, it was much more manageable after this point.

 

 

As we continued on towards Ribadiso we passed multiple bars and cafés with Camino Frances themes, and we noticed that the coke machines with the shells and Camino map were still there.  Many of these things brought back memories of our first Camino.   When we reached the edge of Ribadiso we were met by volunteers in bright orange vests.  They were stopping pilgrims to make sure they were okay and to offer help I assume. I wonder if this level of support for a hike is found anywhere else?

 

 

Although the countryside of Galicia is incredibly beautiful, I found that I didn't enjoy or even see much of it. It was simply too full to concentrate on anything except avoiding people's hiking poles, and staying out of the way.  When we reached the tiny riverside community of Ribadiso we were reminded again of our previous hike, and the evening we spent there with friends.  In 2016 there had just been two albergues and one restaurant/bar there, but now there are multiple establishments, some with swimming pools.

 

 

We reached Arzua around 2:30 pm and made our way down the busy main street, past many albergues and hotels.  The road was busy with very noisy traffic, and the sidewalks and restaurants were chalk full of pilgrims.  It was clear the Camino had taken over the town.  We made our way to the far end of town and threaded our way down a few smaller side streets to our accommodations. We were shown to a beautiful room, and were enormously grateful to be tucked away into the quiet backstreet.

 

 

We took our showers and then headed to the nearby laundromat with our laundry.  After putting it in the wash we stepped across the street into a quiet little corner bar and restaurant for a cold drink and a pizza.  While the bars and cafés on The Way were full to capacity, this lovely little place was mostly empty. What a difference location makes! We ended up spending a few hours in the establishment, waiting for our laundry, and eventually ordering a pizza for dinner. The bar offered local smoked meat, and owner looked very crestfallen when we ordered the touristy pizza, rather than sampling the local delicacies.  Overall it has been a long day filled with many memories.

Distance: 33.3 km

Accommodations: Pension Casa Elena