The Final Stretch

After the big 20 mile day, we were spent.  We were slow to get going in the morning and walked at a slow turtle's pace.  Most of the time we can manage the turtle pace, but not after a 20 mile day.

We walked through some beautiful countryside.  It was cool again with mist and light rain for most of the day, so I wasn't able to take many pictures.  By noon,  we had only managed to walk 10 miles.

We found a cafe, sat down,  and planned the rest of our day.  We talked with some bikers from Canada, who felt they were missing too much by riding.   They wanted to come back again and walk.  I always wonder if there are many people who do a part, say they want to come back, and actually follow through.  These girls seemed like they would.   The question is always about making the time to do it.  The time rarely appears,  you have to make it.

After assessing our physical and mental condition,  we decided three more miles is all we could manage.  There were hills and we were just walking slow.   It was our shortest distance day in weeks, and we still walked for 8 hours. I guess we over extended ourselves with 20 miles.  The owner of the cafe called ahead and booked a room for us. It was almost 4 by the time we arrived.   The albergue was split between two buildings and ee had one building yo ourselves.

Despite this being the busy section of the Camino,  it isn't that crowded.   We are staying in the smaller towns and the albergues have plenty of room.  The trail is crowded in the morning,  but empty after 12pm.  We  dreading this section after our last Camino,  but this section has been very enjoyable.  The weather is also the best of the Camino.

Since we had a room to ourselves,  we decided to wake up early the next day and try to walk another 20 miles so we could arrive in Santiago in 3 days.  The kids fell asleep at 6pm, so woke up at 4:30 the next morning for the first time in awhile.

Ww knocked out the 20 miles with more ease this time.   As we get closer to Santiago,  we want to finish.   It's not that we want the pilgrimage over,  but there is a draw to Santiago.   I almost feel like walking the entire 30 miles tomorrow.  Santiago draws us like a giant magnet.   We all have aches and pains (except Juliana), but we walk more than ever before.

Two more days....

Gisela in the early morning on the Camino

Crossing a bridge

Painted shells at a local shop

Marion using her balancing technique to cross a stream

Marion...on the trail

Portomarin