We are officially within 40 kilometers of Santiago! Since yesterday was our last big hiking day we’ve been taking it easy. I hope to enjoy these last few little towns and have a more leisurely hike to the finish. This fortunately means that we are no longer waking up at 5am and instead around 7. What a difference that makes for me since I am the grumpy one in the morning. I’m sure it’s better for Scott too, so he doesn’t have endure my irritability.
When we woke up this morning, we were rushed out by the people who work at the monastery. We aren’t entirely sure why, but they wanted everyone out of there. As we started walking it was very apparent that we are getting close to the end. People are coming out of the woodwork (some not looking like they’ve used their gear or broken in their shoes, but they’ll figure that all out quickly enough). There was not one moment where we were alone on the hike today, it was an odd feeling. Plus it meant that bathroom breaks couldn’t be taken randomly on the side of the road.
We stopped for snacking a few times, but mainly to rest our feet and take it slow. Like I said, we are in no rush now. Our snack supplies are quite low and because it is Sunday there are no grocery stores open. Meaning we’ve got peanuts and Oreos to hold us over until we get to our Albergue.
The walking has been especially easy, other than the fact it is on pavement. Nothing like the first week where we felt like we were creating new paths through the forest and really testing our quads and hamstrings with up and downhill battles. I am extremely thankful that it hasn’t rained in days and it was sunny and not too cold today. It’s crazy how much the weather can manipulate your mood (and slow down your walking).
I’ve been carrying around two random carrots for the last few days, and of course we have encountered no horses. A hike where we have seen at least one horse every day, to now none. We did get to walk with some cows this morning that were being herded into the road, better than nothing!
Our first stop when we got into town was churros. They had a place just a minute away from our Albergue… destiny I call it. Let me tell you, Scott and I both agreed that these were THE best churros and chocolate we have had the entire trip. No doubt about it. Definitely made up for the terrible ones from yesterday. I even gave wine a chance again at dinner tonight and it was a very pleasant surprise.
Since we have just joined up with the other Camino, Camino Francis, the town is very busy and so is our Albergue. Many more people are speaking English (which kind of takes the fun out of things for us because we like playing charades). We are meeting our fair share of interesting people; it is a different experience for sure. We didn’t get to hike with the other Camino yet because we are in the town in which the paths join, so tomorrow will be a fun change.
The Albergue is really nice, an old Spanish home converted into a very large and cheap Albergue. It is right in the center of town and very beautifully remodeled. This town is filled with lots of good bars and restaurants, so we took advantage of that for dinner and snacks. Our excuse being, it’s Sunday and the supermarket is closed.
Tomorrow is our second to last day of hiking. We can’t really tell what it’s going to feel like to be done, but we are both very excited to get to Santiago. Now back to reading and Netflix since the sun isn’t setting any time soon 😊
Today’s Stats:
Number of km: 21.9km
Percent paved trail- 17.7km
Percent unpaved trail- 4.2km
Difficulty- Easy
Cities passed through: Corredoiras, Boimorto, Sendelle
Albergue- Xunta, pillows, full kitchen, washer and dryer, outdoor space, clothes lines, hot showers, and wifi
Adventures of Scooter and Hales 