Day 15 – Caldas de Reis, Spain

Monday July 10, 2017

We started a little earlier on our 21 km ( 13 mile hike ) hike from Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis because the breakfast service at the hotel was available at 7 am.

We left the hotel at 8:30 and immediately saw some of the Camino hikers ahead of us. Most of the time, Kathy has been the lucky one to spot the first arrow on the hike, but today I made the mistake of seeing it first and so I get to pay for the meals. At one corner, we found yellow arrows pointing in both possible directions, which would have made things confusing if we hadn’t been told by our California hiking friends that they had been warned about these situations, so we were able to tell which arrow to follow. Apparently some of the store owners are trying to re-direct the Camino hikers past their shops, so they come out in the evening and paint an alternate path. Fortunately, most of these arrows are distinguishable by their simplicity and even if you do follow them, they are only a minor diversion.

There were some sections where we had to hike relatively close to the road and the oncoming traffic, but fortunately these were short sections.

At one point our path took us along a major road and we were happy to see a sign for our final destination, indicating that we were only 40 km ( 25 miles ) to go.

After hiking 8 km, we reached a cafe where we met up with several of the hikers from the previous day. Cold fresh water and a little rest were all we needed to energize us and we were back on our way. We soon met a young lady from Holland named Judith. She is a former policewoman and police investigator who is transitioning into social work.

Other than the vineyards and the very cheap wine, another item that has caught my attention is the extensive use of natural granite for construction. It is so plentiful that the lower quality pieces are used for fence posts.

During our hike we met an entrepreneur who had set up an ice cream stand in our path. Being someone who likes to assist people with their new business, I forced myself to buy some ice cream.

There was only one major ascent and it was early in the day, making today’s hike, relatively easy. When we had hiked 16 km, there was another cafe where I forced Kathy to stop for a rest and some cold ‘ aqua con gas ‘ ( carbonated water ). Several of the hikers stopped there as well and Kathy convinced them to take a group photo.

It was 2:30 pm when we got to the Sena Hotel in Caldas de Reid and we had time for a nice meal before showering and resting a bit.