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On Saturday the 11th of May 2013, Harold and I walked from Hospital de la Cruz to Melide. The Brierley distance today was 28.7 kilometres. Melide is about 50 kilometres from Santiago de Compostella. According to Brierley, we had walked 61 kilometres since leaving Sarria two days earlier.
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Me with some of my wonderful, new Canadian friends on the 11th of May 2013
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Leaving the albergue in the morning of 11 May 2013. The Camino took us up a continuous slope, winding it way towards the sky.
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It was still early in the morning when I took this photo of peregrinos stretched out along the Camino as far as the eye could see.
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This section of the Camino was tricky because it was slippery and stony; a misplaced foot could result in a broken ankle.
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This was the view once we got to the top of the uphill slope that started immediately after we left the albergue.
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The Camino always felt so much more friendly when it left the roads and dived through forests and more “natural” places.
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When the Camino took us through small country lanes, it always felt exhilarating.
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There were many carved images of peregrinos to be seen along the Camino.
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Walking through sections of the Camino that looked like this, was always refreshing for the soul.
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Another section of the Camino that made you feel good just by walking through it.
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Because I live in the driest State in the driest country in the world – South Australia is mostly desert – I was always thrilled to see rivers and streams that constantly overflow with water. In my home city Adelaide, there are no permanently running waterways. The creeks all dry up in late November and do not usually regain any water until late April in the following year. During the period from late November to late April in the following year, extremely little rain falls and temperatures hover for days on end at about 35 Celsius or above.
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Diary Entry Made on Saturday 11 May 2013 at 8:58 pm
We arrived at a private albergue in Melide at about 4:35 pm after leaving Hospital de la Cruz at about 8:30 am. The Brierley distance was 28.3 kilometres. [Note: The Brierley distance was actually 28.7 and not 28.3 kilometres as stated in the diary entry.] The distance marker in Melide indicates that it is about 51.5 kilometres to Santiago.
When we left the albergue in Sarria on Friday morning the marker said it was 111.5 kilometres to Santiago. If that is correct, it means we have covered about 60 kilometres in 2 days since leaving Sarria. [Note: The total Brierley distance that we covered in those two days was 61.1 kilometres.]
Today was a day for Canadians. Eileen and Doug and Maureen are all Canadian and so too is Harold. Harold is 81, Doug is 71, Eileen is 69 and Maureen is 66. Harold and I had breakfast with the other Canadians at Hospital and they walked with us to Melide, where we had dinner together. Doug, Eileen and Maureen are three very delightful people.
There was no rain today and we walked in bright sunshine for most of the day along either quiet lanes or quiet country roads. It was very pleasant travelling and there were no huge hills to climb like the one at O'Cebreiro.
Distance Walked Today: 28.7 kilometres.
Total Distance Walked So Far: 716.6 kilometres.
Total Distance Covered So Far: 737.8 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.
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Soul Song Number 33 - Canada Dry
(11 May 2013)
Take a group of Canadians.
Give them ordinary names.
Names like Doug, Eileen, Harold and Maureen.
Then mix them all together into one group of pilgrims.
What do you think you get?
Why you get Canada Dry of course!
You get five Canadians all competing against each other.
What are they competing over?
Easy question to answer.
Canada Dry compete for the right to be the wittiest pilgrim.
For example, when Doug shows a picture of his beautiful 18 year old grand daughter
You say "Can I marry her please?"
Doug says "I didn't know you were a priest John".
Canada Dry also compete for the right to be the kindest pilgrim.
For example, Harold asked "Did you see the homeless man with the dog?"
Some pilgrims had complained about the homeless man.
They saw that he had bought coffee with the money Canada Dry had given him.
The complainers thought it was wrong to give money.
It was even more wrong for that money to be spent on a cup of coffee.
Canada Dry knew better.
Canada Dry also knew how to walk.
Canada Dry knew how to make fun and how to be fun.
Best of all, Canada Dry knew the most important thing in life.
They knew how to make the world a better place,
Just by spreading a little love around.
With companions like Canada Dry.
My feet barely noticed the kilometres as they walked their way to Melide.
Even better yet,
The Camino is populated by so many people who are just like Canada Dry.
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