Solitude may be something you have been experiencing over the last few months of the coronavirus shutdown. It has been not been so for me. I have been busier than ever and can’t believe almost three months have flown by since my last Camino post. It’s time to finish my series of posts about that wonderful experience.
The Yakking podcast show that Kathleen and I started has taken off better than we ever expected. Organizing guests, recording, editing and publishing two videos and audio segments a week keeps us busy. Our star performer, author Nancy Lou Henderson’s video is the first to have gone over the 500 views on YouTube.
The Hostel Acola in Pontevedra provided sandwiches and an apple packed in brown paper bags in the fridge for breakfast. Coffee and tea were available. A nice change from most mornings, when breakfast was a glass of water.
Gabriella and I set off just after 7:00 am walking through quiet streets. Pontevedra with several Albergues, private hostels and hotels is a popular overnight stop for pilgrims. Even in the early morning darkness, we saw several other pilgrims on the road.
The previous night, my throat had been scratchy and my nose had started to run, sure signs of a cold starting. It was too early to look for a pharmacy so no way to find throat lozenges. Fortunately I felt strong and was able to keep walking at my normal pace.
Solitude May Have Been Better
Perhaps because of the cold, I found it difficult to understand Gabriella so we settled into a morning of companionable solitude and walked in silence most of the way to San Amarro where we stopped for a coffee.
Road to Barros 
Roadside Notice 
On the Original Roman Way XlX
We stopped for a mid morning coffee and pastry at a cafe in San Amarro. The cafe is on the side of the original Roman Way XlX, the signpost in the photo above was across the road from the cafe. Many cyclists and a few other walking pilgrims stopping for a break, some familiar faces.
I was concerned that Gabriella was either embarrassed by her poor English or had enough of my company, so I asked her if she would prefer to walk on her own. My cold was getting worse and I didn’t feel like talking, that day, I would have preferred solitude. However, Gabriella assured me that she liked walking with me as she was worried she would not make it on her own. With only 22 km to walk that day and shorter walks on the remaining days, I did not need to race so walking together helped us both.
We walked on to our next stop at Caldas de Reis a town of 10 000 dating back to Roman times. It is a pretty little town situated between two rivers and with a gurgling stream running through the town centre.
Arriving at 1:10 pm just after the Alburgue opened, we got beds without difficulty. It was good that we were early, by 3:30 the hostel was full with many late arrivals turned away to look elsewhere.
Rest and Recovery in Caldas de Reis.
I was feeling miserable from the runny nose and sore throat so I did not make many notes about that day’s journey. I did write that the bathrooms were small and inadequate for the number of guests. The motion activated lights were irritating during the night whenever someone got up and frustrating when using the bathrooms or toilets. They would switch off in the time it took to brush teeth or shower causing much frantic arm waving to get them on again.
The accommodation was in double bunks with between 8 and 20 beds in 3 dormitories. After claiming a lower bunk each, Gabriella went to do her laundry and I walked back along the main street to a pharmacy I had seen on our way in earlier that afternoon. I had forgotten the siesta. All the shops were closed. I walked back to a small cafe near the hostel next to a Roman stone bridge over the stream, had a coffee and cheese sandwich and relaxed until the shops opened at 5 pm.
Albergue Caldas de Reis 
Siesta in Caldas de Reis 
Willow & Stream
Caldas de Reis was a place of solitude and tranquility compared to the crowds and bustle of Pontevedra the previous day. I sat at a table outside a little cafe overlooking the stream under the willows in the photo above. The Willow tree hides the Roman stone bridge in the photo. Its paving stones were worn from 2 000 years of footsteps, the side walls were made of interlocking dry stones, no mortar to hold them in place.
Third Time Lucky
When 5:00 pm arrived, I walked back to the pharmacy to find it still closed. A small notice on the window advised that it would open at 6. Back to the hostel to wash my shirt and think about the next day’s journey. On my third trip to the pharmacy, I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted in fluent English by a young woman pharmacist. She helpfully sold me some throat lozenges and said that her good English was partly from school but also from working in England and New York.
The throat lozenges soon helped my throat and my nose and I was feeling well enough to think about supper. I went back to the streamside cafe and had a veal, fries, egg and salad supper – with delicious bread, red wine and coffee.
Caldas de Reis 
Supper (with wine) 
Salad with supper
The hostel was only 6 euro for the night, the cheese sandwich and throat lozenges added to my expenses for the day but at 21.50 euro, not bad and under my 25 euro daily budget.
We had walked 22.54 km on the route in 5 hours and 12 minutes. A good day despite not feeling 100%.
There was only 45 km to go to Santiago. If I had stuck to my original schedule, I would have walked in solitude and arrived there this afternoon. I was happy that I had slowed down, I would still have a day and a half in Santiago before flying out on Thursday.
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