The Home “Scratch”

At Arzua, June 23, 2026.

Dear Followers, Friends, Family, and Christine.

I am “really itching” to tell you about the highlight of the day, but I will put that off until the end of this post.

It has really struck us that this is the homestretch. Tomorrow is the last day that we will walk to an accommodation other than in Santiago. 20 km tomorrow and the final 20 km Thursday. 

As both celebration and condolence we looked for a restaurant that did not specialize in “the usual €15 pilgrim menu”. Not far from our pension was a small eclectic restaurant that fit the bill. The bill did not fit a pilgrim’s budget!

Four glasses of excellent Galician wine, a liter bottle of mineral water, a shrimp, appetizer (shrimp wrapped with fine cut pork rind, deep-fried and accompanied by a slightly spicy dipping sauce), wonderfully prepared Hake fish for Charlie and a juicy shoulder steak (served rare) for me… topping it all off was grandmother‘s homemade cheesecake. Worth every euro! (sorry, forgot to take pictures of the meal)

Of course today was hot, but we got an early start and beat most of the heat by the end of our 21 km hike. This was the day for bridges.

There were also periods of hiking through urban areas, which I did not find interesting enough for pictures. Accordingly, this post is thin on photographs.

We again ran into our “Malaysian friends“. This time I had the presence of mind to get a photograph of them. They really got into the swing of things and made it an event for all of us.

I think more than one of them has taken a shine to Charlie, considering him “cute“.

Now for the “pest” part. I woke up yesterday with the most annoying itching. As the day progressed the itching resolved into red splotches with small distinct centers. Consulting twith Professor Google resulted in a diagnosis of bedbugs! A few days earlier I had commented to Charlie that this is my fifth Camino and I think the whole bedbug controversy is way over blown. How wrong I was.

A trip to a pharmacy and a small tube of hydrocortisone has brought some relief. Time will do the rest.

Charlie and I machine washed and dried all of our clothes just to be on the safe side.

Christine, please give all the grandkids and my daughter a big hug. I look forward to seeing them in Paris. I hope to share dinner or even just a cup of coffee with “Mr. B”. I am especially thinking of him and his coming “journey”. Love, Me.

Peace, Everyone and Buen Camino. Pete.