Caldas de Reis to Pedrone - Almost There!

The second last day before our arrival in Santiago, we walked 21 km from Caldas de Reis to Pedrone.  It should have been about a six-hour walk but we made two unexpected stops that made the day a little longer.

The first stop was at an elementary school.  It was the second day of the school year and a teacher of a Kindergarten class invited us in to get our passports stamped.  There were 17 children in the class and far too cute in their little smocks.  The male teacher would be an anomaly in Canada but he clearly loved and was effective in what he was doing.  The classroom looked much like a Canadian classroom, complete with calendar and computer centers.  There was even one boy who clearly deserved a small chair stationed nearby the teacher to ensure he paid close attention.

The second stop idea hatched the night before we left Caldas.  We travel with a lot of skinny fit people and it is not surprising many are interested in bicycles and bicycle racing.  Phil and Cheryl can quote you names, statistics and strategies reguarding professional bicycle racing like any Canuck hockey fan.  Phil figured out that the Vuelta 2014 (Spain’s equivalent of the Tour de France) was passing by our hiking route in the afternoon.  We packed a picnic lunch and reached the intersection point 12 km into the walk.  We settled down and waited for the excitement to build.  At about 2:20 the motorcycles and sirens burst on to the scene closely followed by a peloton of 189 of the worlds best bicycle racers.  It was over in 9 seconds but the spectacle and the “Swoosh” sound was unbelievable.  They are so closely packed that you could sense the trust they have in one another’s’ professional skills, as well as understand that if one goes down, most go down.  I have a short video taken with my phone but am experiencing trouble uploading.  Maybe I’ll get it into the blog later.

Hope Canada's Ryder Hesjedal Saw Us

The afternoon was spent walking the reaming 9 km talking about the buzz we had witnessed.  It was truly a great day and we finished with a great meal at our hotel in Pedrone.

Coffee Con Leche Everyday.

Nearing Pedrone

Always Tired Near End of Day.

A short day of 24 km to reach the cathedral in Santiago tomorrow and the completion of our goal.