39 km. That’s right. My watch actually says 41, but I think it exaggerates. Today was a very long day. It rained most of the day, gloomy with low clouds, and by the end of the day, foggy. It was extra long due to me going twice in the wrong direction (added about 2 km) and a challenge with the trail.
I knew setting out I was going to be doing extra mileage today and have a lot of hills. The app said it would be 32 km, but a short way into the walk I realized that the guidebook (that Mark keeps and sends photos from occasionally) said 35 km. Hmm… Too late now. I just planned to go slow and steady.
The walking was pretty, but it was hard to capture the beauty through the rain. During the last 16 km, there were sea views in the distance, but it could barely be seen through the mist and rain.
The challenge was the condition of the trail in the rain. During the last 15 km, the path is over a series of ridges going out to the sea. There is a town on each ridge, so the Camino takes you straight down a path then up to each next town, through the forest and on fairly steep trails. Each climb is not overly high - 75 to 150 m - but there are several of them.
Because of the rain, there were rivulets of water flowing down the paths, which of course meant mud. That was actually manageable. My bigger concern was that any streams that needed crossing were flowing strong and required rock hopping or balancing on tree branches placed over to cross. I had a long way to go and did not want to risk falling into the water and soaking my feet. Each time I descended, the streams seemed to be worse. I was concerned about climbing down, only to have to turn around and climb back up. I was alone and had not seen other pilgrims for a while, so it was starting to not feel safe. At about 5:15, I still had 10 km to go. I stopped in at a cafe in Santa Marina, took off some of my wet layers, ordered a decaf coffee (I needed something hot!), and started looking for alternatives.
At that point I was very frustrated. I knew that continuing the Camino path was out of the question, but when I looked at Google maps for road alternatives it was showing 16 km, which felt risky. The sun sets at 9:30, and I was not trusting the weather at this point. I almost resorted to a bus, but the next one was at 7 pm. I was also concerned about needing to bus back in the morning (to get all my steps). Uber? Nope. None available. I wasn’t happy about these options anyway. Finally, I asked the cafe owner for advice. He said, ‘Just walk this road straight there. It’s 12 kilometers.’ Why didn’t I ask before! I had seen the road on the map, but Google had led me to believe it was longer (that was a different road). 12 km felt achievable, especially given his matter-of-fact confidence in suggesting this to me at 5:45 pm.
So feeling a bit rested and relieved, I set out on the road. Not much to say about this part of the walk, except that it was winding and hilly, but otherwise fine. I trudged along in the wind and the rain saying things to myself like, ‘Think of it as a long day at the office, Terri’, and questioning my misplaced morning optimism. See note.*
I finally arrived at 8:30, changed out of wet clothes, stretched, then went down for dinner. Menú del noche! Normally, I prefer not to eat a big meal at night. I was perfectly ok with this one, though, and ate my dessert, too. After that, a hot shower and bed.
Highlight of the day: I ran into Annie, Silvia, and Josef at about 11 am. They saw me and Annie yelled, ‘Terri!’ with a big smile. We had barely finished sharing our day’s walking plans when she said, ‘Can we take a group picture? We forgot to do it yesterday!’ So we did, and we walked together until about 3 pm. Two notable memories:
Annie is the definition of exuberance. Her face lights upconstantly, her laugh is a delightful cackle, she is very extroverted - language challenges don’t stop her from trying to connect - and she breaks out into song constantly. For example, when she sees the ocean, she will begin singing, My Bonnie lies over the ocean… And when it rains she sings, It’s rain-ing again… They were delightful walking buddies.
I needed to stop for lunch and they did not (had already eaten), but they decided to stick with me and have drinks while I ate. When we walked into the bar (bars are also cafes here), a large group of pilgrims looked at us and let out a cheer. It was a group of Italians that my Austrian friends had met previously. There was a lot of joy and banter - this small place was filled with us. Apparently, when they’d met previously, Annie had learned that one of the men sings. She kept demanding to hear it, until finally they all broke out into a long, beautiful song. (See below.) When the Italians left, one of the men called out to me, ‘Ciao Americana!’ and for some reason this struck me as very sweet.
*Note: I met a lovely Scottish couple at the hotel last night, Noreen and Willy. This morning, as we discussed our daily walking plans over breakfast, Willy said, ‘35 km is a long day. Why don’t you break it up and stop in Soto de Luiña instead?’ I recalled this several times as I walked. Good question, Willy, good question.
Photos from the day:
Lunchtime festivities with their Italian friends
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