Day 6 - Arzua to Rua

We left the very nice hotel where we stayed last night after a good breakfast.  Since the hotel was so far out of town, they drove us back to the point where we had been picked up yesterday evening.  The proprietors were a delightful family; although they spoke little English, they were very attentive to our needs.

I began the day with a husband and wife from Australia, who have been hiking for many weeks.  John, the husband, has fought shin splints and is largely over them but was feeling a bit under the weather today.   His wife Louise is a sweet woman who told me some stories about people they have encountered since they started.  Since they were going rather slowly, I picked up my pace when we were joined by a man from Japan who started in Leon about a week before we began.  He is my age or older, but liked walking very fast (but not so fast that I couldn't keep up).   His English was only slightly better than my Spanish, so our communication was very slow.  He is retired and enjoys taking a walk every day.  From a small town near Osaka, he enjoys taking care of his grandson; the son of his daughter who is working hard.  He has a son who has spent some time in the United States, so he has visited Boston and Chicago with his son.   While we were walking, we encountered a man who whittles walking stocks and sells them for donations.  We also saw an interesting establishment where it appears that they sell a house beverage, and then ask people to sign their bottles which are placed on the wall.   Here are a few pictures:

After a while, my bad leg, which has been behaving so very well for the entire trip, began throbbing a little.  So after a bit, I told the Japanese man that I would be abandoning him, and slowing down.  As it happened, it was only a few minutes later that we came upon a couple walking slowly - the man was limping slightly, and they are from Vancouver, British Columbia.   We talked a bit about American and Canadian politics - neither one very pretty - and the health systems.   Before long, we reached the place where they met others from their group and stopped for lunch.

Shortly after that, there was a fork in the trail.   I had no idea which path to take, so I asked a group of young Spaniards what our options were.   They said they were choosing the route that appeared a bit easier, and I was welcome to join them.   I walked for about a half hour with one of them, a young woman named Esperanza (translation "Hope", nickname "Espa") who works in an advertising agency in Madrid.   She speaks English about as well as I speak Spanish, and was thrilled to have someone to practice with because she needs English at work and is not always able to keep up.   Before long, we reached the restaurant where our group was supposed to meet and then call the hotel for a ride.

I sat and opened a book, waiting for others in our group to arrive.  It was a longer wait than I  expected!  I sat and read for about an hour.  Finally, I decided to walk about three kilometers to the hotel.  Only a few hundred yards along, I encountered Bob M, Karen B, and Bert.  We walked back to the restaurant and called for a ride.  Our group is now split between two hotels.  I don't know much about the other, but ours is delightful.   The only problem is that there is nobody in the office.   We found an open door and waited for a while for someone to come.   She then gave us our room keys, told us when dinner will be, and disappeared!  I have the best room since we started the trip - with a nice bed, desk, shower, and balcony.