We left Palas de Rei early in the morning at 6:40 a.m. and headed towards Ribadiso de Baixo which was 26 km away. The hike was quite intense because of the steep inclines and sharp decent. Personally, I preferred the paths going up instead of going down. In fact, I hated going down because it would always intensify the pain in feet especially my toes. I’ve observed that there was a high level of correlation between the level of difficulty and the beauty of the path. The easier hikes were usually flat and uneventful but the more difficult ones were usually more scenic and visually appealing.
We arrived at Ribadiso at 1:20 p.m. and we immediately registered and settled in. The albergue was quite beautiful. It was in a secluded area in the middle of the forest. Many of the pilgrims enjoyed themselves on the river.
I did the regular routine of getting cleaned up and washing my clothes and I took a nap right after. At 7:30 p.m. we had dinner at the restaurant next door and we took the initiative to join the tables so that we can sit with other pilgrims in fellowship. I sat beside a man from Denmark named Peer and he was a very interesting man. He told me many amazing and exciting stories. Him and his wife are very adventuristic and they have done many fantastic excursions around the world including the climbing mount Kilimanjaro, Himalayan, Machu Picchu, and camping in the North west territory for a six weeks. I was very intrigued by all the thrilling experiences he shared.
The picture above is me sipping on an expensive glass of red wine conversing with Peer about the synthesis of statistical forecasting models (just kidding). Peer also happened to be an expert in wine tasting. He ordered two of the most expensive wine glasses and taught me how to differentiate between the two by smelling it, gently shaking the wine glass in a round motion to let the oxygen in, and tasting it with a special technique. I was very flattered by his generosity and the fact that he took the time to demonstrate wine tasting procedures. I love drinking wine but I am by no means an expert. I retired to bed shortly after.
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