It was a short day, just 21 km from Ferreira to Melide where we are chillin’ in our bunks. It
rained lightly most of the way and it never warmed above 10 C. Albergues don’t usually turn
on the heat until 8 pm or so Mark and I are making good use of our down quilts.
It was another day of comfort environments for me, lush rolling farmland broken up by valley
forests with clear trout streams. A Spanish pilgrim, Rafa, carries a fly rod with him and tests as
many pools as he can for trout. Today should have been fruitful for him.
We reached Melide at 1 pm, checked in at our albergue, and met friends for lunch at Pulperia
Ezequiel. Melide marks the point when the Primitivo joins the Frances on its way to Santiago.
We have been told many times that this is the place for good pulpo or octopus. A big cauldron
of octopus was boiling as we walked in. The restaurant was full of long tables and benches
like a church basement meal. We sat at a table with three Irish women on day three of their
walk from Sarria on the Camino Frances. Originally it was Anton, Mark, and me, but familiar
faces kept walking in. Scarlet from Hong Kong, Anna from Spain, and Ricky from the Canary
Islands joined us.
Pulpo is boiled then chopped into bite size pieces and served on a wooden platter, drizzled
with olive oil. Padron peppers, a Spanish variety of mild green peppers are fried until blistered
in olive oil and seasoned with salt. Most are sweet, but one in ten surprises you with some
heat. Crusty sourdough bread is served in a basket roughly cut in chunks. Dipping it in the
pulpo oil is tasty. The Irish ladies let us try their Chorizo pieces sautéd in red wine. Yum.
From here on we will see many more pilgrims, and less of our friends as we all mix into the
fast stream of people on Camino Frances. We have 50 km to Santiago, just two more days of
walking. When we arrive, we find our friends and celebrate.