Meleide

I ate at the famed Ezequiel, a pulperia. Translated..octopus. Yup folks, they pull them out of a boiling vat of spiced liquid, chop them up, sprinkle salt, paprika I'm guessing, wine and olive oil. Very good! The bread was awesome too. I ordered some wine and it came in a pitcher with a bowl! (A closer look at the sign would have given me a clue that this was how it was served.) I gave some to the locals and the gal that split the order with me. There were probably 200 people in there all doing the same. I made the comment that I thought it was odd that there was all this octopus being featured so far inland. Martina pointed out to me that while we were six days away from the coast, by car or truck it was about an hour or two.

This morning I got to be a part of moving the dairy cows from the barn to the pasture. The guidebooks ask us to wait for the animals. The owner told me to go. So the Bessies and I wandered down the road together. Cows weave. The woman was concerned, since it was early, that I hadn't eaten. I didn't know how to tell her I had...twice already.

If I knew there would be places to stay, I would crank my mileage and finish Tuesday. Each day, pretty much, I still find a Camino gift along the way. The pilgrims are different now and there are more: those that only had a week or two. They don't have the same "I got broken and healed" manner to them. This is hard for me to adjust to. Example: the bunkbed slats and bathrooms have graffiti, sometimes very crude. I guess I'm just saying I have to look harder to find the simple graces. They are still here and I have found them, but they aren't "presenting" themselves as they have the last few weeks.

Down to 50 km to go!
(From my Treo)