Un buen dia

Sept 26

Today was a great day which was welcome after the adventures of yesterday. 

What better way to start the day than with  trip to the coreos, aka, the post office! 

Many years ago we discovered that the post office was the walkers’ best friend. 

There is no better way to lighten the load than to empty the backpack, pile everything on the bed, and put together a package to send home. It takes about a week for the first purge. Every ounce counts and less really is more (better that is).

 Some countries have cheaper rates than others but whatever the cost, it is worth every penny.  The quickest way to know what you can live without is to carry it on your back for eight hours a day.

 This morning we were at the post office, ready and waiting when the grate was raised at 8:32. 

While we waited I practiced how to say ” I’d like to buy a box , to send as slowly and cheaply as possible, to the US.”

I did pretty well but the heroine of the morning was the woman in the post office. She was kind, patient and funny, helping us put the box together  without  tearing it, filling out the endless forms, and taping it all up tight.

Slightly absurd in that we were sending home  one pair of shorts, a hat, B’s reject walking shoes, the first fifty pages of our guide book (neatly cut out with my Swiss Army knife), and a snow dome of the flower dog at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao-total of 5 pounds. 

Not much?? Just 15 percent of the total weight of the backpack . 42 Euros and worth every penny!

By nine we were finished and rewarded ourselves with coffee and “sugar pillows”. Not sure what they are called in Spanish but they are fat, sugar coated puffs filled with custard. Not the typical  one teaspoon of filling, more like a quarter of a cup! The weight that was taken out of the backpack was put right back onto the carrier of the backpack.

With spring in our steps we were off. It really was a two boot day. Easy that is. We had the usual ups and downs  but walked 14.85 miles in a record six hours, including a stop at the grocery store and a picnic in the woods. 

The weather was beautiful- in the sixties  and a picture perfect blue and white sky. We walked mostly on back roads and talked with various pilgrims (more on them later). We had time to enjoy the scenery around us and check out some of the local critters, butterflies and and more snails.

. 

We checked into our pensione and are the only guests here. It is rustic and charming and the walls are covered with photos of the area taken by the owner.

We had time to do laundry and even time for it to dry.

We took a tour around Guemes and even found an open church- unfortunately a rarity in Spain.

An early dinner in the garden and we were in bed by 8pm.

 After ten days of walking we are finding our rhythm and settling into our walking groove. We are one third of the way to Santiago de Compostela.Ultreya!!