Walking Across Italy

Today we walked 11 miles from Porrino to Redondela, Spain. It wasn’t a long walk, but given the hot weather forecast for the afternoon (88 degrees), we left at 8am, before the sun came up.

The air was very crisp this morning and so we covered a lot of mileage before the sun rose over the hillsides. We climbed about 200 meters in altitude during the first 2 1/2 hours. Most it was gradual, but then after the town of Mos, it got steep.

Shortly after leaving Porrino, we saw a Camino Marker which suggested that we had less than 100 kms to go. Santiago de Compostela was only a few days away. Why they couldn’t put a marker this marker 160 meters earlier, I’ll never know.

There was a church in Mos which was very plain on the outside, but beautiful on the inside. It also had a couple of candle stations where, for under a 5 Euro donation, you can light a candle to honor a loved one or The Big Guy Himself. Not a bad deal.

There were some very steep declines on the other side of the hills, so I used a traversing maneuver to keep my footing and my toes from being crushed in my boots. It’s slower progress, but less painful on the toes.

We arrived in Redondela at about noon, found our numerous apartments, and then met for lunch. The lunch spot was recommended by Stephen’s 2-star hotel landlady, which should have been our first clue. The food was good, but the attitude of the staff was downright nasty. As a result, we dubbed the place “The Most Unfriendly Restaurant”. JP promised to give them a good thrashing on Trip Advisor.

The highlight if the day was our adventure to the beach this afternoon. We decided to take the Tourist Train which is bright green and yellow and looks like a kids train at an amusement park.

The train travels on the road and despite the unhappy woman driving the train, we had a great time. once at the beach, stephen and I showed off our hunky physiques and ventured into the ice cold Atlantic Ocean.

After about an hour of sun and sand, we all climbed back into the train and returned to the downtown area. Along the way, we decided that this town needed a little fun, so we started yelling “hola”and waving to the people on the sidewalks, in cars, in cafes like we were the stars of some “happiness parade”. The reaction was amazing. People would turn a frown into a smile, wave back at us, laugh, yell “hola” back at us, many of the old people felt recognized and loved. It was like we were spreading some joy and laughter all along our path. Even the grumpy train driver got into the mood and started honking the train’s horn at every intersection. The happiness was infectious.

Now, I’m sure most Spaniards thought that we were escapees from the mental hospital. But, we emerged from the train feeling like this was the most fun you could have for 5 Euros!