Octopussy

We walked 18 miles today. We had intended to walk 16 but pushed on for the extra 2 because no restaurant or store was open in our targeted ending village. Those extra last 2 miles of course were all uphill and although our walking day was 8-4:30 with a 1 hr lunch break, I didn't feel whipped like I did earlier in this pilgrimage.

We've fallen into a rhythm with Ted from Taiwan, who is currently living in Vancouver. He is a great guy to be around because he is always so positive. He has been walking with Marek from the Czech Republic since we've known him. The albergue where we stayed last night purported to offer breakfast. That is not typical and we weren't quite sure if there was an extra charge for that or if it was included. As we stood at the metal roll front counter at 6:30am we weren't even sure breakfast would happen this day. There was no action inside and we were enjoying our rice pudding as a backup plan. Ted walked by and offered us a coffee which would be made with the freeze dried packets that he was carrying but we declined. Not a minute later the breakfast kitchen was opened and a professional espresso machine was revealed. I halted Ted's coffee project and pushed him into the short line of zombies forming at the counter. The breakfast consisted of coffee or juice and toast or a croissant. As pilgrims jiggled coins in their pockets we realized that this was not included in our room charge. Ted only ordered coffee and as his milk was being steamed and the crema rising he realized he had no money on him. He asked me to hold his place and was about to run upstairs when I said I'd cover that coffee. He was very appreciative and even more so when Amy shared her oversized croissant with him. As we ate our continental Ted shared a story from his early days on the Camino. He was hiking with two other pilgrims, one German and one Dutch. They got caught between towns with no open place to stay. It was now dark and not a good section for night hiking. They decided to sleep outside and found an overhang at a closed-for-the-season restaurant. Ted had nothing to eat. The Dutch pilgrim had some dried apricots and the German had some bread. The divided up what they had and were eating their small apricot sandwiches when an older man approached holding a bag. Inside the bag was bread, cheese and beer. It was for them. He humbled them with his gift. As they were enjoying their cheese sandwiches with beer they realized that there were grapes hanging from the vines above so grapes were added to their menu. They slept right there in their sleeping bags although Ted said he didn't sleep much because it was quite cold that night. Still, the generosity of others that night had left an impression on Ted and he had been passing it on ever since. He often walked with a bottle of wine or had one at dinner at the albergues. The main reason for this was so he could offer it to others. He even carried plastic cups for sharing. Plastic cups are quite rare in Spain. I have only seen them in Ted's possession.

An hour for lunch is a longer break than we have been taking but this was a special lunch day. We would be in Melide mid day and every self-respecting peregrino knows that when in Melide, octopus is eaten. We had first heard this from a group of 3 pilgrims from Mallorca several days ago. They were already planning their stop at Casa Ezekiel to enjoy the pulpo. We've seen that group of three several times now. I like them. They seem to be in sync with our daily schedule. We communicate to them through Clare and they have one guy who can speak some English. He was the one explaining the necessity that we stop at the house of Ezekiel and sample the "Octopussy! It is the best octopussy in all of Spain!"

We weren't sure Casa Ezekiel would even be open when we walked into town just before noon, but it was. We walked past a large cauldron of boiling tentacles and slid into one of the long tables with benches upfront. I'm not sure if it was Ezekiel himself that snipped our octopus but he obviously takes his job quite seriously, as an octopus tattoo covers his right arm from elbow to wrist. A hook retrieves the pulpo from their final swim in the cauldron. Scissors are used to stack a wooden plate with bite sized morsels. A healthy dousing of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika and salt and the meal is prepared. Toothpicks are the utensil of choice and the pulpo is paired with bread and wine of course. We were pleasantly surprised. If you ever find yourself in Galicia head to Melide and the casa de octopussy and tell Ezekiel I sent you. He'll hook you up.

The pulpo was the highlight of our day. That, and our evening meal that we shared with Augustine, a monk from Poland, and Ellen, a return pilgrim from the Cologne region of Germany. Amy, Clare and I had not been in sync today. Amy had had a rough day the previous day. Her energy seemed low and her feet hurt more than usual and we could tell she was suffering. Today it had been Clare's turn. We seemed to walk at different speeds. I've seen these sinusoidal waves of energy and lack of many times in the cycling version of randonneuring. Sometimes you are up and sometimes you are down. Sometimes it's your buddy or even someone you just met. If someone around me is down I'll usually try some tricks to pick them up but not for long. Many people don't want help. They just need some time. If I feel negativity building around me I'll change my pace just to get some distance. This is what I was doing today but this is my family. I should have been working harder to encourage team Ende. In the end we came together against a common opponent. That last big hill. We enjoyed our dinner and laughed at ourselves over beer and wine at a street side table directly on the Camino, less than shouting distance to our government albergue.

The daily stages are measured in kilometers but the real measure of success on the Camino is in kindness and generosity. I'll be working to click off some more tomorrow, kindness and generosity that is.