We’re almost there – only 44 km/28 miles to Santiago! After a lovely dinner last night at our historic and luxurious accommodations (Pazo de Sedor- a 17th century manor house), we woke up refreshed and ready to hit the trail. Unlike the past several mornings when we left early without breakfast, we decided to hang around until 8 a.m. and enjoy a more relaxed morning. We left around 8:30, about an hour later than our usual departure time. Since our hotel was off the Camino, this added an additional three-quarters of a mile to our mileage total for the day. Unlike the past several days, there was no mist and no significant humidity and the temperature was pleasantly cool. There were times of clouds and sun with no risk of rain. Once we got back onto the Camino, the trail was in the forest and of course we started with a pretty steep ascent. A bathtub was spotted off in the trees, possibly a relative of the toilet we saw several days ago! We crossed a stone bridge over the Iso River into the charming village of Ribadiso. After we passed through, the Camino wound its way uphill along a highway. We slowly climbed for a distance of 3 km to the small city of Arzua, the largest one we will encounter before reaching Santiago. We walked along the Main Street of this bustling town, lots of people out and about doing their shopping, enjoying a cup of café, and window shopping. After traversing the entire length of the town, the Camino veers to the left just before a small tranquil park. It continued down through a residential area with cobblestone streets and then out into the countryside. There was a huge slug hanging out on a roadside fountain. Free range chickens were everywhere. Flowers are everywhere with the most amazing hydrangeas growing along the entire Camino.
We passed fields of corn and cattle grazing. Around Pregontono, we encountered a cattle traffic jam on the Camino as an elderly woman wearing Wellingtons and carrying a stick guided a small herd of dairy cows down the trail. She held a lead rope attached to the last cow in the line of bovines because it became quite evident that this particular animal was not the “sharpest tool in the shed” as it constantly tried to veer away from the rest of the herd!
We took our first rest stop about 8 km after our start, quite late for us as we usually can’t hold out that long without some nourishment and a potty break. Instead of our usual bocadillo, we enjoyed tuna and chorizo empanadas. This is a Galician specialty, a little like a calzone but flatter. As we watched pilgrims lumbering past, two young men riding white stallions decided to stop at the café for their lunch. We never saw them later on so I suspect that they weren’t riding all the way to Santiago.
The Camino in this stage alternates between wooded areas of oak and eucalyptus where one hears the constant hooting of unseen owls and acres of cornfields. We saw a few sheep in addition to the preponderance of Holstein cows. There were no more gigantic uphill climbs or treacherous descents for the most part, just an undulating trail. At one point we heard loud gunshots that was followed by the sound of trucks blowing their horns for at least 10 or 15 minutes. I suspect that this was likely related to a truckers strike. As the wooded Camino trail paralleled the highway, this cacophony totally overwhelmed the sounds of nature.
We stopped for a couple more refreshment (orange Fanta and the requisite cerveza) and rest breaks, as we are feeling the cumulative effects of walking about 15 miles per day for the last 9 days.
This stretch of the Camino was unique because of the many examples of expressions of hopes and desires of humans. We encountered the “Wall of Wisdom” along the way. A local philosopher posted (in English and in Spanish) religious and philosophical statements and questions, meant to make the pilgrim reflect on his/her faith and beliefs. Additionally, the Camino milestones are covered with graffiti that frequently try to encourage other pilgrims to continue onward. One ingenious graffiti artist wrote the lyrics, one line at a time, of John Lennon’s song “Imagine” on the outside of blue trash barrels that had been placed along a stretch of the Camino.
As the day progressed, we were finding it increasingly difficult to keep putting one foot after the other. Thankfully the majority of the Camino was shaded, but even small hills seemed too much. The last 3 or 4 km according to our map seemed like it would be an easy descent to our final destination, but it seemed to go on forever! We had to get off the Camino again to find our pension in the unattractive “town” of Pedrouzo, a conglomerate of crummy pizza joints, tourist trap restaurants, Camino souvenir shops, utilitarian lodging establishments and a sketchy “supermarket”. Unfortunately we had to walk about 500 meters along a very busy highway to get there. We made in one piece, hot and very dusty, about 9 hours after we started. We finished our evening sharing dinner with Brian and Matthew, dad and son experiencing the Camino together. But I don’t think they were brave enough to try our ensalada especial. It had everything but the kitchen sink (tuna, ham, fried egg, pineapple, white asparagus, iceberg lettuce, tomato, olives, onions and these little wormy things, possibly baby eels).
Lesson of the day: The world is full of distractions. When we rush through our day, we don’t take time to see things. Take time to really see your world. And watch out for little “worms” in your “special” salad!
N.B. I’m having difficulty uploading photos and will retry tomorrow. You won’t want to miss seeing those little wormy things in that especial salad😉!
Camino Musings 