Portomarin to Melide

When you get the opportunity to walk through Roman ruins after the universe reunites you with a traveling companion, you don't pass it up. It was 6 am when our hosts decided to turn on the lights. Talk about a rude awakening. Everyone was forced to get up and out of bed at the same time, which led to minor amounts of chaos in the dormitory.

The way out of town and back to the Camino was through the same way that we entered it: over the bridge. This town technically wasn't on the original Camino path anymore because they had to move it to higher ground after they flooded the valley a long time ago.

We hiked uphill, passed corn storage houses, and through the charred remains of a forest. 90 minutes later we came to Castromaior after passing through Gonzar. They have a restaurant at this Albergue, which means food, and we were starving!

As we're walking in, a pilgrim is on their way out. It was Eileen! Such pure fate. Crissi and I are happy to be reunited with a travel companion after saying goodbye only just yesterday. We ate our breakfast and hit the trail again.

I noticed that Eileen was walking without her sticks, and I commented on how impressed I was that she was going uphill without them. "F**K!", she said. Her poles were resting comfortably back at the Albergue we had breakfast at. She was forced to turn around, while Crissi and I marched on. Why we didn't turn back with her, I do not know. A few moments later and we were walking uphill again.

Just outside of Castromaior were the ruins of a Roman encampment. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to actually walk through history, to be able to reach out and touch it. You can see where the fires were, the kitchens, and even the bathrooms. You just don't get a chance like this back home in the States with historical landmarks: they're usually roped off.

Afterwards we waited for Eileen at a restaurant outside of Hospital Alta da Cruz. After she arrived we got back on the trail. Palas de Red was the next big city, and the chance for a good solid lunch, during which we unanimously decided to "turn on Beast Mode" and push for Melide, about 14 kilometers away.

It was a hard walk, but we had a great time and did plenty of talking. We were nearly dead when we arrived in the outskirts of Melide though. Upon reaching the bridge into town, we ran into Mauro placing a hand written note on the bridge telling us to meet him in town. It was so darn cute.

Now we're all together again! We found a great place to stay with a nice green backyard. When we were heading out to dinner I ran in to Sam! I'm glad to see that he is finishing the Camino, 40 pound backpack and all.

Melide is well known for its Pulpo a la Gallega, which is boiled octopus served with olive oil, paprika, bread, and white wine in a bowl. We didn't shy away from having some.

So much unexpected joy today. Random surprises from familiar faces can ease the soul in so many ways.