Strolling Thru the Traffic Jam

Day 29  Palas de Rei to Melide

Miles today:  9.7

Elevation gain:  711’

Descent:  1098’

Walking miles:  357.8

Total Camino miles:  472.3

Moving speed:  2.5 mph

Make no small plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.

               Daniel Burnham 1907

Today is Labor Day in Spain. This is a major holiday and it appears that the schools have the entire week off. Good for the kids but not so good for us!

This was a “slacker” day for the five of us. Our walk today is the shortest of our entire Camino thus far. Therefore we sleep in a bit, have a later breakfast, and set out from town at about 9 am after a visit to the local church. To our surprise the square around the local church is packed with people. A couple of hundred teenagers gather, wearing backpacks and trekking poles, full of excitement. Clearly they plan to hike with us today.

As we begin our walk, the crowds of teenagers grow. Quickly there are hundreds and hundreds walking in front and back of us. We periodically stop to let groups pass, but the parade is non-ending. Luckily they do not seem to drink coffee so our first break is a respite....from the kids and also from an unexpected light rain. The chance of rain was forecast as zero today so Judy and I left our rain jackets in our transported suitcases. That is a mistake we will not repeat!

The rain soon passes and we move on. By late morning the bulk of the crowds are ahead of us. Our day today is only a half of one stage (map page) in the guidebook. We are doing a “walking rest” as we divide one normal days’s walk into two days. We are slackers today and loving it!

The morning clouds and light rains are past and the afternoon is mostly sunny and still comfortably cool. A trailside packed lunch a mile before our accommodation completes our 10 mile Spanish stroll.