Allison Cowie

Melide to O Pedrouzo / 21.3 miles

• Chugging a YoPro yogurt protein beverage to kickstart my morning
• Charging into barbed wire in my urgent search for a forest bathroom in the morning twilight
• Seeing more runners en route to Santiago… they were jogging probably 10k per hour and only carried a tiny backpack for water and snacks
• A croissant and coffee 5km in
• Meeting my friend Manolo from South Korea, whom I hadn’t seen since the albergue in St Jean
• Hearing about Manolo’s plans for his upcoming fifth Camino
• Stopping for a midmorning snack together (tortilla and Kas for me, beer for Manolo)
• Continuing on solo and listening to lots of great tunes off the Camino playlist
• Seeing hórreos everywhere, which are traditional Galician grain storage bins raised high off the ground. Many of them are decorated with crosses, making them look like chapels for elves with great climbing skills
• Lots of quiet dirt paths covered in autumn leaves
• Passing by a beer garden (closed for the season) decorated with sculptures created from its wares
• Lots and lots of wind and rain
• Colacao and a chicken sandwich at the only cafe that was open between km 12 and 30
• Soup and salad for dinner because apparently I forgot I needed food that would actually fuel me. Tasty, though!