19kms but today we will journey further as we are backtracking a 1/2 km to a 4km (round trip) detour to discover Vilar de Donas established in the 12th century and an ancient seat of the knights of Santiago.
The custodian of Vilar de Donas aged 83 was very knowledgable and passionate who spoke little English. Fortunately an Italian couple arrived at the same time and they spoke a bit more more English than he did; a bit. This area....word has it is the mythical resting place of the Knights of St James. Here effigies of the Knights in their armour are watched over by rhe beautiful frescoes that adorn the walls of this sacred Church. We learned a bit more frm Steve and Clare from New Orleans who we meet at our accommodation the night before. Irish Fathers came here to spread the gospel. The spanish people then could not read or write hence the intricate detail from ceiling level to floor level in the stone and artwork holds the story from the birth and resurrection of Christ to the devil, there was even a carved effigy of Christ holding a 'round' world. This crafted at a time that the Catholic Church officially said it was flat (the custodian quite light heartedly mentioned that 'the church had made many mistakes'). There was also amongst the frescoes a heavily pregnant Mary - her hand resting gently on her tummy. It was at Vilar de Donas we first learnt of the considerable 'Celtic' influence in Galicia, this became more obvious as we progressed to our next stop; Melide.
Our journey towards Melide took us a very long time. We arrived at Pousada Chiquitin exhausted. Not very welcoming. Melide is famous for its pulpo so we gave it a try. We are picking it was in keeping with our quarters and should have dined out. We also tasted asparagus - they are ginormous and white. Refer photo.
Our foray into the Melide town centre revealed much of the Celtic influence, from carved stone shamrock's, celtic crosses, and knots, to souvenir trinkets, jewellery, and T-shirts with Celtic imagery.
Retired early with earplugs inserted.
Neither felt very safe in this village.
Breakfasted early and there was a definite change in attitude even given sustenance to take on our way to Arzua.