Days 14 and 15: Ferreira to Melide and Melide to Salceda

Ferreira to Melide was full of hope of getting back together with our community. I was so excited to get there that I thought the day would go fast.... guess how that turned out for me.

The trial itself was beautiful. We walked through foggy rolling hills covered with jagged rocks and beautiful wild flowers. We were excited when we came up on a cute bar with snacks because our 6€ consisted of stale toast and coffee... immediately we found friends!

The rest of the trail was nice and pretty easy going other than each footstep was getting more and more painful. It was some beautiful and monotonous prayer... sort of like a rosary. Right foot, praise, left thanksgiving, right offering, left, intentions. The last mile into town was hell. Direct sun, and pavement. It was quickly turned around when we turned the corner and a whole table of friends were cheering and yelling for us, beers and tapas waiting.

I want to cry thinking about it. So beautiful.

We quick stopped and got a room in the nearest albergue and checked on mass times. We had plenty of time for a couple beers after our shower before we met our friend, Cathy for mass. Mass didn't have music and was quickly said in spanish, but listening to the Living Word in any language and receiving the communion was enough to feel like a healing salve on my heart and feet.

The church was beautiful and we were able to even get our Compostella stamped.

We ended the night with dinner and a 6 pack under the stars.

Today was interesting... Melide is where all the caminos combine. We had more people on trail in the first 5 minutes than a normal day in total. We walked with Jack and all the commotion made the day pass so quickly. We had a couple great breaks for coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, sandwiches, salads, and of course beer.

Todays prayer in my heart was that of divine calling and thanksgiving. We are only 2 or maybe even one day out from Santiago. How crazy. It left me pondering going back home, reflecting on the journey so far, and giving thanks for everything in each moment.

We were all getting pretty tired towards the end so it was a relief to arrive in Salceda. We found a suitable albergue and quickly showered as it was already around 5pm. We made our way up to the bar and had such a good supper with beer and new company. 2 Irishmen that had done the full Frances route joined our table. They shared so many great stories from their journey. Such a pleasant encounter.

Our waiter, the owner of the bar, was a hoot and gave us great recommendations. At the end of the meal, with a sparkling clean plate, Jack said "no good" to him asking how it was. The owner quickly got a stern look on his face and went back inside... coming out moments later with a huge stick and a funny hat. He waved his stick threateningly at Jack until he would admit that the meal was indeed delicious.

Now we're drinking 6€ wine, eating Pringle's from a vending machine, and admiring the view from our Albergue in lawn chairs. What could be better.