I got my eight hour sleep! Cait must have had about 9 or so. While she was sleeping I walk down a small cafe, do some writing, order two breakfasts and put the scrambled eggs onto the ham and cheese croissant. I watch hordes of Pilgrims walk past down the road outside.
It’s cloudy today - thank goodness - and like yesterday should be easy to walk late into the afternoon evening, so we aren’t in any huge rush. There was the option of staying at a monastery near our final destination tonight, but it’s a first come first serve basis and the beds are in an old jail cell - so I think that I’m going to favor a good night sleep again and pass it up.
I’m really enjoying the process of writing about each day before I go to bed. I find that it crystallizes the memories and allows for a moment of reflection on an experience that has been so rich with content that it would be otherwise be forgotten.
Rain starts falling as we’re packing our bags - rain jackets and a little repack to get the iPad safe. And murphy’s law, it stops shortly after we leave the apartment. We get out the tar and back into the beautiful forests. Sad to see quite a bit of toilet paper along the path during some sections. Or maybe we were just noticing them now? There were quite a few hills today, leading to heads down walking up, watching the edge of the path go by (hence noticing the toilet paper).
We take the day pretty slowly, with many breaks. Have an espresso and Spanish tortilla - potato and egg; perfect fuel.
The little cafes and restuarants littered along the side of the Camino are truly incredible. You really don’t have to carry any food if you’re prepared to pay for each meal and snack. Yet there is something quite special about a roadside picnic in a beautiful spot.
We left a lot later than most other pilgrims today (who got rained on). And didn’t see our Scottish friends unfortunately. That was until near the end of the day when we saw three figures in the distance: Camino girl, Camino mom (or older sister) and the one and only Camino dog. Camino dog was drinking out of a water fountain when we passed, what a legend.
Cait and I reflect on how walking from town to town to city in a foreign country is such an incredible way to enter a space, it’s so slow. When you fly/bus/train in, BOOM you’ve arrived and you’re in the middle of it all. No warming up or time to ease in. Yet walking in is so gentle, a slow gradient of urbanization that never feels abrupt or jarring. The forest slowly eases into farm land, which fades into a few houses, then into an odd industrial building, slowly the houses become more dense until you arrive into the center of it all. A gentle way of doing it.
Bodies were tired today, but we did so well. Cait floored it during the last six kilometers to get to our apartment. I arrived exhausted and sore, but feeling good. A quick pop to the shops for dinner and snacks and we’ve had a calm night at home. Booked Santiago accommodation (after many failed attempts). I’m a bit sleepy to write many more words - I’ll leave some photos from today instead.
