This morning our albergue served a typical small breakfast consisting of one piece of bread, peach jam, coffee or tea, and a plain yogurt. It was good, but I was still dreaming about the feast we received yesterday for breakfast, and I knew we would be stopping for a second breakfast soon.
Today started with a light rain that came and went for most of the day. In Mondenedo we stopped for breakfast number two at Cafeteria O Rei des Tartas, facing the beautiful Cathedral-Basilica da Asuncion de Mondenedo. We had bocadillos, (a sandwich on half a baguette), like a sub. I had bacon, Shelagh had calamari, and Mark had ham and cheese.
Three hours later we reached our destination, Abadin. We cleaned up and headed across the street to Casa Goas, a restaurant packed with locals. When we explained that google wouldn’t translate their hand written menu of the day, the waiter said ,”Come”. He took us into the kitchen and showed us each of our options. We made our choice and sat down to an amazing feast. They brought enough soup and pasta for four, and that was just the first course. Needless to say, just snacks again tonight.
For those concerned that we are gaining weight on this foodapalooza, know that we are burning approximately 3000 calories a day, especially today. We had two options: the old route that swings around the side of a mountain and passes through little villages, or the new more direct route which climbs straight up the mountain and crosses windswept pastures with no villages in sight. We, of course, climbed the mountain because it was reported to be 3 km shorter. We rarely turn down a short cut even though they are usually much more challenging.
We are staying in Abadin at Albergue Xabarin (wild boar). The albergue is owned and operated by an extended family very interested in offering a positive experience. The three of are sharing a cheerful private room for four. This is the edge of the off season so not all visitors are pilgrims. There are four wind turbine technicians from Mexico using this space as their home for a week while they service turbines in the area.
My camera was safely stashed in my pack today because of the rain, so I took no portraits.