George woke me up this morning. I was sleeping so soundly. That doesn’t happen often so when it does, I’m grateful that I had such deep slumber.

It was after 7am. Good thing we turn our clocks back tonight. At least the sun will come up earlier. We seem to be getting into town at a reasonable time, between 3-4pm. So if we get up and out an hour earlier, wow we could be in town by 2-3pm. We’ll see how it all pans out.

The weather has been cooperating for the most part. A few early morning sprinkles, then nothing till the end of the day. Yeah for us and all the Pilgrims out there.

We had a climb out of the City of Vigo today. At first we were in the city so all we could see where the tall buildings and some beautifully painted murals. I sent one to my friend Judi asking her how in the heck they painted such a mural? She explained that they use lifts and window watching scaffolding and paint away. These murals are on buildings that are 15-20 stories tall. That’s a lot of paint!

Once we made it out of the city and up on the hillside, the scenery was outstanding. Both George and I weren’t making much headway because we were stopping and gawking at the views. I stopped and talked with a local. She wanted to know where we started, how many days we’ve been on the trail and when we will get to Santiago? All good questions. I did my best to answer her in Spanish. She nodded and bid us farewell.

What I didn’t expect was a Pikgrim Stamp from the cutest 8 year old named Nadia. She had a fruit stand set up in her garage and lured in Pilgrims with the coveted stamp for their Passport. I was caught, hook, line and sinker. She stamped and dated our books and then we bit. How much for the mandarins and a banana? $5 later we had our Passports stamped and were eating the most expensive fruit I’ve bought on the trail. I’m sure it’s going to a good cause and it made her smile.

About mid-day, we came across the biggest waterfall I’ve seen on the Camino. With all the rains of the past week, it was flowing and spilling over. George and I stopped, unloaded our packs and I started making us lunch.

Our Swiss friend Richard showed up with a couple from Canada, Rosemary and NedJoe. Richard bought a new pair of high top water resistant leather boots. The European’s like their leather boots. They just can’t imagine wearing TrailRunners on the Camino. To each their own. What works for one, might not work for another but he was thrilled with his new shoes. And honestly, that’s all that matters.

The three continued on as George and I stayed and had our lunch. It was good as we had added a few tasty morsels we acquired from breakfast this morning. It was scrumptious and gave us the motivation we needed to finish off our daily walkabout.

We had followed a plateau for many miles which abruptly halted and started a steep decline. George’s knees were screaming as were mine. It was extremely steep for the Coastal Route. I was a bit surprised. By the time we arrived in Rendodela, all I could think about was Beer and Coffee. We found a local Sports Bar that was filled with people watching soccer. Perfect. We hung out for an hour, ran into Richard and another Pilgrim. There’s only one way to get to town, so you always run into people, time and time again.

We finished and walked the last half a mile to our destination. Our studio apartment was near the San Simon Cove, just a few blocks off the Camino. There’s a couple of nice restaurants nearby so I walked into the Traditional Tapas Restaurant. I asked the waiter when they open for dinner? 8pm. I’d like to have dinner tonight. Do you have a reservation? No but I can make one? Sure, what time? 8pm please for two. And that’s how we roll in Spain.

What I’ve learned is that Spaniards are a bit more literal than the Portuguese. The Portuguese love to stop and chat. They are welcoming and it’s hard to leave. The Spaniards seem to be a bit more reserved. Once you get them to open up, they are quite generous. Take for instance our room last night. There was no chance that I paid for the room we received. But George and I show up, we talked for awhile with the gal behind the desk, tell her about our day and how happy we are to be at her Hotel. Laura then proceeds to give us a huge upgrade. That’s the generosity we have experienced, over and over again. You just can’t help falling in love with these people. Oh the sweet life we are experiencing.

George crashed out this afternoon. We showed up to our apartment, he took a shower, sat on the couch and he’s was out like a light. I think about our children we’ve had, and how we wear them out so they fall asleep. George is no different. He’s just a big kid, playing so hard and by the end of the day, he’s exhausted! And that’s a good thing. But I will wake him up for dinner.

After the brief rainstorm, we walked down for dinner. It was traditional Spanish Cuisine. George had steak with french fries and I had Hake Fish with french fries and a huge salad we share. Good protein and great company. The place started filling up by 8:30pm and George and I walked back after the rain fizzled out. Just another day on the Camino.