When I left the house this morning at 6.30 AM, I notice that my left knee is hurting, making me almost limp. Oh no, am I not going to be able to walk today!? This is going to be another long walking day, as it’s 26 km to Ribadiso. Just as I’m leaving town, Melek joins me and I’m pleased to see him, because today I’ve brought with me Frankincense, the essential oil that helps with aches and pains, and he told me his neck is hurting.
We walk till we see a tiny café on the outskirts of the town, and enter. The place looks brand new and is very sweet, with lots and lots of lovely cakes, but it isn’t something you would want the first thing in the morning, so I just have a coffee. Anyway, it serves our purpose, and we sneak behind a corner. The essential oil is not supposed to go directly on the skin, so I’ve also brought a cream based on other essential oils, and we blend these together and treat our respective injuries. Pain, blemishes, chafing wounds, and blisters are part of a pilgrim’s everyday life. As Frankincense has been found to have strong anti-inflammatory effects and is said to have been one of the first gifts given to Jesus by the wise men, I have high hopes that this tincture will help me with my knee today.
We walk together for a couple of hours and chat. The sun has risen and it’s turning out to be another glorious day. ‘Feel free to move on whenever you like’, I tell him, as my pace is slower than his, so eventually he sets off with the enviable speed and ease possessed by those with nearly a month of continuous hiking.
After a while I catch up with Ann, a very nice woman from Brazil I’ve run into a couple of times, and we begin to walk together.
I had planned to stop and have lunch in Melide, a quite large town roughly halfway to Ribadiso, but we get here already at 10.30, and only stop for Ann to try out the Frankincense cure on her ankles which are hurting. Here is the old medieval bridge we cross as we leave Melide behind.
The last time I was here in 2012, I stayed in Melide, having had a rough day and in much need of rest. In the morning I felt much better and left early. In a clearing in the forest just outside town, I came across three ‘cowboys’, watering their horses.
When I stopped to greet them, one of them asked if I wanted a photo taken of me sitting on his horse. ‘Yes please!’ He helped me up and took a photo with my mobile camera. When I was about to jump down, he said, ‘No no no, why don’t you come with us.’ ‘But it’s your horse!’I objected. ‘I can do with a bit of exercise’, he replied and took my backpack and staff, and that was that.
So it came to pass that I unexpectedly got to ride a horse as part of my camino, and it was an adventure. The men were two Spanish brothers and the son of one of them, who was doing their camino on horseback and neither of them spoke English. But it didn’t matter at all. The brother riding burst into song at regular intervals, while the other fed me fruits and berries he bought along the road at little stalls, and gave me a flower he pilfered from a garden we passed too.
The fountain in Boente where we stopped and watered the horses 2012 and today 2023.
I accompanied them all the way to Arzua, riding into town to the applause of the people sitting outside the cafés that lined the main road leading into town. They were going to stay here, and we dismounted by the small chapel in the centre of town. I thanked them profusely and left them to tend to the horses, feeling grateful for this experience that I will never forget. The Camino delivers magic when you need it the most.
We pass one of the places I remember as well, a shallow riverbed that you cross by using the big boulders as a bridge.
Today’s walk takes us through shady forests of oak, chestnut, eucalyptus and pine, and across six river valleys, and involves many uphill and downhill slopes, of which several are steep. I am thankful my knee, although not okay, is not bothering me too much right now.
Eventually we stop for lunch, and I’m exhausted. Walking with the pros, as I call those who by now are skilled hikers, used to walking long distances for many hours every day, makes it a bit more challenging for me, because they don’t have to stop and rest as often as I need to. But I enjoy walking with Ann, and we have lovely conversations along the way.
A succession of cows passes by on the road, while we have lunch.
Here is one of the many peculiar, narrow buildings raised above ground that are scattered around the countryside. They used to be used as larders to keep the farm’s provisions safe from mice and rodents. This one is in Castañeda.
Crossing the medieval bridge we finally arrive in Ribadiso after 26,3 km and a solid eight hours walk with only one stop for lunch and a short stop for a quick drink. My feet are killing me, my knees are playing up again, and I’m in dire need of rest. But I made it here!
Ribadiso 2012
Ribadiso 2023
It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining and I intend to enjoy what’s left of it to the fullest. Across the street is the only restaurant in this small hamlet, and here I find Bjarne and Grethel, when I eventually manage to get there. We exchange news as I wolf down a hearty dinner, before taking myself back to my room and a hopefully good night’s rest.
At least that was the idea. It turns out that tomorrow’s intended accommodation is not what I thought it was, so I spend a large part of the evening researching and booking a new place to stay and this means that I also have to rebook my backpacking service, so not the early night I was hoping for. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
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All photos copyright Anita Martinez Beijer © All rights reserved
The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage rooted in medieval origins. It leads to the tomb believed to be that of the Apostle Saint James the Greater, in the crypt of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. The Camino was, and still is, Europe’s oldest, busiest, and most well-known route.
Bohemialife 