We awoke on day 3 to NO RAIN – hallelujah! We packed up once again, stowed the rain gear and headed off on the trail. Today was Redondela to Pontevedra (20km) and we were feeling good about day albeit still moaning about how heavy our packs were. For the record, Coreena and Jen were coerced into carrying everything. This was my idea.

Nick sent me a message with a link about 7km in that we were very near a post office and could buy a box and send some of our stuff ahead to Santiago de Compostela. What??!! Clearly we were all on board to see if we could figure it out.

After a quick coffee break we found the post office and ended up buying 2 large boxes to send. In the end we offloaded 20 kilos! Honestly, we were giddy to only be carrying about 15lbs each. Nick for the win on this one and we were so grateful.

We ran the rest of the way to Pontevedra. Haha, just kidding. We walked, chatted, listened to music, and fell into a rhythm for the day. We found that we like to stop for food/drink about an hour out from our destination each day and on this day we found the best bar ever. It was tiny, catered to the Camino primarily and we accidentally ordered a feast.

The last 5km went by quickly and before long we rolled into town which was very beautiful and had many great restaurants to choose from.

I was fighting a cold and was not feeling great so when we arrived we got cleaned up, the girls went for a wander and I had a nap. I met up with them later in the square at a lovely cafe where we shared a bottle of wine and some great tapas. The waiter insisted we finish with a digestive drink which tasted like baileys. He kept bringing them out to us and we had to refuse forcefully after the 2nd one. Pretty delicious though and we all slept well that night.

I should also mention that Coreena’s big toe was not doing well by the end of day 3. It was very swollen and it looked like she may lose the nail. She decided to walk the next day in her Birks as not to put any pressure on the nail.

DAY 4 – Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis (21.7km)

Another day of no rain and it was a pleasant walk through the countryside. Mostly uneventful and Coreena taped up her foot, wore Birks for the first 10km and then switched to her shoes. She never complained once but it must have really hurt.

As per the previous days, we passed by small vineyards and farms as well as small villages with medieval churches and lovely cobble lanes. Again we stopped for a late lunch and I had soup (finally found some) and a chorizo sausage that was cooked at the table. Once restored we carried on for the last leg of the journey.

The town of Calais de Reis is known for its thermal pools throughout town. There are areas all over town that have various sized pools to soak your feet, etc. the water is incredibly hot and it definitely takes a second to get adjusted.

We were feeling well rested and ready to tackle the remaining days however we knew a terrible storm was coming with torrential rain for our last 2 days. It was a bit defeating to be heading out into the dark, dreary weather.