Palas De Rei to Arzua

We woke up an hour earlier than we usually do because we have the first of two back to back 28 kilometer days. We had a great place to stay last night that had only been open for business for one month. I will have to take the time to post reviews for the places we stayed to help out pilgrims who are coming behind us.

We grabbed some toast and coffee and started walking. At the edge of town we saw this sculpture. Don't exactly know what it is all about but I Iiked it anyway. I think it is either two dancers or two fishermen talking about how big of a fish they caught. I ruled out two guys directing a truck that is backing up to a loading dock.

We have been seeing a lot of these old structures at houses and farms. Best I can figure is that they were used to store corn and other vegetables. They are built on stone pedestles with a flat stone between the pedestle and bottom of the crib to prevent critters from crawling up them. The cribs themselves are constructed of slats that allow air flow but protects what is inside from birds. They are usually covered with a tile or slate roof.

Midmorning we decided to stop for a Cafe con Leche and a snack since we only had toast for breakfast. They had this giant scallop shell so we did the cheesy tourist photo thing. 

While we were finishing our coffee, up walked our new friends from Vancouver Nancy and Wayne. Melissa, whom we met the night before at dinner, was also walking with them. Melissa is a Pilates instructor and has her own studio. We all ended up walking together for the rest of the day.

We happened on this old church. It was open so we went inside.

This painting on the wall of the church was obviously very old and I am not sure who it was depicting. The detail in what is left of it is amazing. Earlier we heard about another church that had a similar painting that was also in rough shape. At some point in the past, one of the village women tried to repair/restore it and did a terrible job. It was later found out it was originally painted by a very famous painter in the past and an art treasure.

During the afternoon we crossed this old Roman built bridge. These bridges have withstood the test of time and are still being used today.

Wayne appeared to be channeling some Roman soldier energy when he crossed the bridge.

Not long after crossing the bridge, we came to the town where Nancy and Wayne were staying for the night. Savanna, Melissa and I walked on to Arzua. We arrived there about 4:30 PM which is not bad time for the days walk.

After cleaning up, we found a little cafe that serves hamburgers and fries. They even gave us a bottle of ketchup so we were two very happy pilgrims.

Well it is time for us to get some sleep. We have another 28 kilometer day tomorrow that will put us within striking distance of Santiago for Saturday morning. We hope you guys are enjoying following along with us and we will everyone good night and a Buen Camino!