Our hotel, in an remodeled stone house dating back to the 13th century, presented us with yet another wonderful breakfast. We had decided that we would finally try out one of the services that transported backpacks from place to place. We loaded all of our heavy stuff into one and kept the necessities. It was a total game changer. We felt light, like we could do any amount of mileage. The sun was reflecting on the farms surrounding the trail, making everything glow a bright orange. There wasn't any place to stop for a coffee or a bite to eat so we kept moving. While skirting through a small cluster of buildings, a small cat walked out of the shadows and right to my feet. He started rubbing his head against my legs and purring. I just near died of happiness. I kneeled down to pet him and things only got cuter from there. He tried to climb into my camera bag and jumped in front of my feet when I tried to keep moving. He kept leaping and grabbing my hands so I'd pet him more. I begrudgingly left my new friend but I would have tucked him in my backpack and taken him home if I had the chance.
We reached our first cafe and stopped, fearing there would be nothing else. We realized we had already made it 9 miles and it wasn't even noon yet! While sitting at the cafe, another small cat ventured up to us meowing. He was missing part of his back right foot and walked with a slight limp, my kindred cat spirit. He enjoyed some pets before curling up in the sunny flowerbed for a nap. We only had a few miles left to go but they were all paved and by the time we reached the edge of town, I could barely walk.
We hobbled in to a cafe and ordered some food. The woman took our order but then dashed out of the restaurant and down the street. A few minutes later she returned with two young boys and their school backpacks. She had been running late to pick up her grandsons. We watched as she cut the skin off their fish and poured their favorite sodas into cups for lunch. Not before turning the TV to Spongebob for them to watch. I thought of my own grandma letting me have two bowls of ice cream at night and making sure it was exactly how I wanted it. We hobbled on to our hotel and found our heavy gear waiting for us in the lobby. We did our usual laying with our feet up then showering before running a few errands and checking out the historic section of town. We chowed our dinner and washed it down with some delicious sangria before calling it a night.
Stats
Ferreira - Melide
Miles: 14.6
Steps: 32,950