We started off today a bit slow. It doesn’t help that when you stay in a hotel you have complete silence in the morning, making motivation that much harder to come by. At least when you stay in an Albergue there’s snoring, early morning rustling, and the quiet sounds of packing to get you motivated to start moving. Though it was nice to get a shower this morning before we got started with our day (not something we get when we stay in Albergues).
Today was our last little boost before we crank down on the last 100+ kilometers to Santiago. We took a bus just a bit outside of Ribadeo and then walked the rest of the way to Abadin. Our last few glimpses of the Northern coast were dreary as we headed into the mountains straight towards Santiago. There were a few small towns we passed through, but I think this will be standard scenery for the next six days before we get to Santiago. Nothing will be as big as the San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, or Gijon’s of the Northern coast.
It was an uneventful day of walking, most of our aches and pains have gone and we feel like our cardio endurance is quite good now. Going up hills will always be challenging, but they aren’t leaving us out of breath like before. The weather has been mostly overcast and misty. I think that we must’ve gotten a little heat wave a week and a half ago because for the most part it doesn’t seem to be standard to have sunshine this time of year on the Norte.
I did however check the weather for Santiago when we are predicted to arrive, and it said sunshine! So, keeping our fingers crossed for that. Though we’ve been told regardless of the weather it is an amazing experience walking into the city, lots of celebration, singing, and overall happiness. I’m really looking forward to that.
We got to Abadin relatively early, so we got to explore a little bit of the town. There are four Albergues very close to each other which is something we haven’t really seen yet on the Camino. This is probably because we are getting close to the 100km mark and that’s when we will start to see people being bused in from all over and needing a place to stay. There are two small grocery stores and a few cafes here too. We bought a few things for lunch and dinner (and dessert) to head back to the Albergue and cook.
Scott and I have each discovered a treat that we love to have in the evening. Mine is an American classic, a tube of double stuffed Oreos, and Scott’s is this really gross prepackaged chocolate pudding with whip cream foamy stuff on top. Obviously, I have some feelings toward his dessert of choice, but that’s why its HIS choice and not mine. Though he often tries to get me to eat it too because they come in packs of four. Yuck.
We are both looking forward to this last push to Santiago. Hoping to meet some more friendly people along the way, eat some tapas, and enjoy a few more glasses of wine!
Today’s Stats:
Number of km: 20.2km
Percent paved trail- 20.2km
Percent unpaved trail- 0km
Difficulty- Medium Plus
Cities passed through: Vilela, Vilamartin, Gondan, San Xusto, Lourenza, Mondonedo, Maariz
Albergue- Albergue Xunta, pillows, full kitchen, common space, outdoor space, clothes lines, hot showers, and wifi
Adventures of Scooter and Hales 