THE ONE WITH THE DINOSAUR
DISTANCE: 14 miles, 22.5km, 32k steps
TERRAIN: Once again it was mainly road walking or forest trails. We didn’t pass many villages (apart from one that hosted a 🦕) today and the last few kilometres were a bit of a mental challenge as we walked along the N50.
We’ve only got two more days of walking and we will be arriving in Santiago to claim our Compostela. This trip has certainly been different from my other Camino’s but elements of the journey have been similar. The one thing that is always the same is the people. Everyone you meet along the way is kindred spirits and full of kindness towards each other. From Pilgrims to bar and tienda owners or the old woman in her pinafore dress pushing a large wheelbarrow. Everyone takes the time to look you in the eye and share a smile. When they say buenes dias (good morning), they actually mean it and wish you well.
IM CRAP AT BEING QUIET!
6.43am – I tried to be quiet as I’m sleeping in a room with two other people but it’s not working. I’m washed and dressed but packing away is just not fair on my fellow pilgrims so I give up in search of coffee! I creep downstairs to find the the breakfast area opens at 7am. It’s now 6.40am so I wait patiently. My plan is to have breakfast and then go back upstairs to pack. They should be awake by then.
A LIFE-SIZED DINOSAUR 🦖
9.10am – 1st cafe stop. This place is weird. It’s full of very tall random statues and various pieces of machinery. As we venture down the road we witness a life-size dinosaur (assuming real dinosaurs are that big!), with a human hanging out of its mouth. Yep, this is a weird Camiño!
I’ve got my trail legs on today and I’m soon overtaking other pilgrims. I leave my friends behind, knowing that I will catch them at the next cafe. I’m alone with my thoughts and Ed Sheran. I feel at peace as I navigate through woodland trails and watch the milestones count down. I’m trying to be “mindful” and turn my AirPods off and tune into the sound of nature. I find myself making images out of the bark on the trees and I keep seeing faces. This becomes a bit freaky so on goes a podcast for the next 40 mins!
IVE LOST MY VOICE OF SLOW.
Cafe two soon approaches and although my little voice of “go slow” is telling me to stop, it’s been less than an hour since my last break. I quickly nip to the loo and then grab Nelly and my poles and head off down the road with a new friend, John from Oz. The next few hours pass quickly as I found out quite a lot about this guy. He talked, I listened. He could talk for England!
MY FIRST WARM TORTILLA OF THIS TRIP… YUM!
We chat until the next cafe where I decide that I’m not going to eat all the food that I purchased last night in the supermarket (which was actually more like a mini-market attached to a garage, not a supermarket at all!). I had carried bread, cheese, tuna, nuts etc but I really fancied warm tortilla, so that’s what I had. I washed it down with a cold beer. Bootiful!
I FOUND OUT WHAT UNDERWEAR 76-YEAR-OLDS WEAR!
The rest of the walk today was rather uneventful. I walked most of it with Alan who is a librarian so new a lots of things about a lot of things. From dates in history of places, we walked by, to stories of times gone by. We did spend a good 5 mins talking about underwear on the Camino. He uses ExFicio as they dry quick. Alan has two pairs with him. Yep, strange conversations on the Camino!
I said goodbye to Alan as he and everyone else headed to the final destination of the day. My hotel was 2km away so we parted at the bridge and I told him I’ll see him tomorrow.
My hotel is delightful. I’ve got my own room with a double bed to myself and a private bathroom. I’m keeping myself to myself and will creep out early in the morning.
I’ve enjoyed a glass of wine 🍷 on the terrace whilst eating some of the food that I carried. It’s nice to have some “me” time.
The highlight of the day was catching up with Rachel from home. Hearing her voice and listening to stories about normal life has made me look forward to going home. I do miss my family.
SPEND
– [ ] Breakfast €4
– [ ] Cafe con Leche €1
– [ ] Lunch of tortilla and beer €5
– [ ] Hotel €45
– [ ] Dinner – I ate my lunch that I purchased last night.
TOTAL: €55