Left A Ponte Ferreira at 9:20 am. Arrived Melide 3:10 pm. Miles walked 12.81.

Forgot to add this video from yesterday.

Turns out we meet up with the French way later today.

Musings – we are not Spaniards. Yesterday we met a couple who were on their first Camino. They were tired but exhilarated. We talked a bit but then they passed us up. Later at 2 pm we passed them. They were having a siesta on the side of the road. We just kept walking. We are Americans who do not see the pure joy and necessity of a siesta. I’d like to evolve.

More – the little villages we have passed through for the last 10 days are noticeably missing any young people. They have all moved to the bigger towns, leaving the elderly to tend the land and care for the animals. We all have a job to do.

Love seeing greenhouses, we’ve passed quite a few.

But this is just weird

One more curious thing. Yesterday we passed a woman who was clearing the wall around her house with a scythe. We said hello, she wished us Buen Camino. Then she stopped and looked at us (we must have looked pretty tired) and asked if we needed anything. Very kind indeed. We thanked her for asking and moved on. She seemed lovely but somehow the scythe made us think better of engaging further.

Today was another one of lots of paved country road. We had woods too and both surfaces offered ups and downs. This is a pattern we just can’t escape.

Further on you’ll see more mansions. We must have found another wealthy neighborhood. While they are infrequent it just seems to always catch us off guard.

Strangely, we are coming across more single males walking alone this portion of the trip. We were overtaken by Thor (the calves on that guy!). We passed Ichabod Crane, Mr. Miyagi and one guy that I’m sure was Amish. We are simply amusing ourselves; could be sunstroke.

We passed a lovely landscaped house and then realized the owner must be a grower. There were at least 50 greenhouses. I was thrilled!

Melide is a small town touched by two Ways – the Primitivo and French Way. It was first mentioned in documents from the 10th century. There was a castle, now gone. The walls around the castle are gone as well – a result of peasants uprising in the second half of the 15th century. The former pilgrims hospital has been restored and is now an excellent museum. Sadly, I just found out about it and it’s closed. Not sure because of the time or because it’s Sunday.

Speaking of today – happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there. Keep up the good work 😎

Caleb and I had a brief call with his dad and two grandads. The connection wasn’t great, but lovely to speak with family and share a bit of Fathers Day with them.

Three days left and we still soldier on. Completing our third Camino is something we are looking forward to greatly.

Can’t tell you how proud I am of Caleb and his ability to see the best in what has been a tough road indeed. No complaining, just a cheerful attitude that is contagious plus a willingness to help when needed. I count my blessings every day.

Good night.