A beautiful undulating walk through hills and dales and river valleys brought us to the idyllic village of Ribadiso, on the river Iso.
We walked through lovely forests, mostly on tracks away from the roads. There was lovely shade for most of the day. We stopped for a delicious breakfast at the hamlet O Coto. A small tienda (shop) and bar run by a delightful abuela (grandma) cooking up fresh omelette in her kitchen. Matt enjoyed the omelette whilst I had the delicious empanada with jamon y queso. Wow! So very good I had two large slices. Walking makes you hungry!
We headed through another administrative town of Melide, which is famous for the pulpo (boiled octupus with paprika – so very tender and much more delicious than it sounds) but we were not able to enjoy as we spent nearly an hour sorting out issues with Matt’s SIM card. Of course the problem was simple, once we got through the language and typical phone company issues. A wonderful guy in the local computer and Orange store saved us by making a million phone calls and finding us an English support line.
We caught up with Sylwia and Jerzy, our Polish friends, and walked the rest of the way chatting and singing with them. We passed through farms with more hórreos, mostly vegetables and dairy cattle. The forests were full of eucalypts and ferns, the smell was amazing, it so reminded us of home.
It warmed up by the middle of the day, we got quite hot and were grateful to find Ribadiso such a beautiful oasis. A few small buildings on the river and a beautiful bridge amongst the trees. We settled into the lovely albergue, got our washing done and headed to the only cafe for a afternoon beer.
Matt and Heidi Smith: Our Camino Journey 2015 