Despite the beauty of the morning sunrise, the walk out of Nigran probably won't be remembered. I chose the inland route today because I was already a good distance away from the sea. I have a reservation over 30kms away and I anticipate angels having to carry me part of the way there. In fact, I have a few reservations coming up that I'm not willing to change. There are pros and cons to booking ahead and at the time nothing else private was available so there have been a few long days.
I forgot how inspiring the country lanes were at sunrise, listening to the rooster's scream and the birds sing and watching the mist slowly disappear from the mountain tops. It's beautiful. The ocean is very calming and soothing but after a while the white noise drowns out the other sounds of nature that make me happy.
I am currently sitting in an Irish pub, yes having a glass of wine. I'm inside but the giant wooden panel doors are all open so I can hear the noise of a small city. Maybe, if I am lucky, the city sounds will drown out the horrible music they are playing. It's the music you would hear blasting by the pool at a cheap all inclusive resort in the Dominican surrounded by drunk vacationers. It's great if you are the drunk vacationer but I'm not...well not yet anyway haha. For the record, Spanish club beats in an Irish pub in Spain doesn't work. I wasn't expecting kilts and a jig but something other than this would probably work better.
I left my place early and it felt like the first time I've seen the sun rise in a while. I'm up early every morning but every day has started with clouds. I enjoyed 2 cafe con leches at the restaurant below my hotel. One old guy serving me with no English. I asked him to speak slowly so I could understand him. He was telling me to leave the key at the bar. Sometimes all I need is one or two words and a whole lot of logic to figure things out. No breakfast today so coffee alone would have to sustain me for a while.
The walk started without much magic but as soon as I turned off the main street, things improved.
I watched the sun come up over the hills and dew drops covered the grass and flowers.
The lanes twisted and turned and had it not been for the sun I would have lost all sense of direction. As I approached the summit, I was faced with a dark tunnel created by a canopy of dense trees and old stone walls on both sides.
My only thought was 'follow me into the darkness and I will guide you to the light'. The slightest feeling of adventure and my smile got a whole lot bigger.
Nothing like a false summit at 8am haha. As I walked out of the dark tunnel I continued further uphill and I was welcomed to a pretty forest lane with a smell of pine and my favorite, eucalyptus.
I tore off 3 leaves. Two to carry and one to keep in my hand. The beautiful smell reminds me of my previous trips to Spain and brings me pure joy.
Sunny skies and an early start make all the difference in the world on the Camino. Also true if applied to every day of our lives. The early bird gets the worm. Life is a Camino.
I liked the feeling of solitude today. In fact I didn't see a single pilgrim until I got to Vigo and even then I'm not sure I saw many. 2 reasons. #1 is I'm in between stages so everyone is way ahead of me or a little bit behind me. #2 is today I made my own trail, many times.
I managed to find a river trail to disguise the fact that I was passing through a big city.
Surrounded by nature and also graffiti. I did however end up having to climb what felt like a monstrous city hill and then a toe buster all the way back down to the shoreline. I am not a big fan of Vigo. I really did see it from every angle today. It's a city. I do like cities... but not this one. It gave me so much anxiety and that doesn't happen easily. I saw an old woman fall and the kind citizens were making her comfortable until help arrived. There was so much construction and so many people and noise. It was a huge city but it didn't even have much in the way of pretty distractions. It lacked charm. My legs were moving fast despite my feet aching and I was screaming on the inside for someone to please get me out of there. My prayers were answered. I found the train station, right on the coastal way and bought a ticket to the next town. It was 12 minutes on a train versus 2.5 more hours of anxiety.
I took maybe one picture... that speaks volumes. Yes, this one below:
I had my head down and was focused on escaping.
I read beforehand that there are no resources or support on the section that I skipped so I don't feel so bad. I don't think my mind was strong enough today to talk my body into going the distance.
There are no words to describe the feeling of immense relief as the train pulled away from the city core.
This city of Redondela that I am in now is much smaller but still not small enough for me.
I think I need some quiet time. It's a holiday today and the stores are all closed. A religious day... I'm not sure.
I am almost out of supplies though.
On a truly positive and successful note... I did my laundry!! I beat the Camino laundry rush.
Two more things worth noting: Today when I was walking by the river, I started to get a headache. Not unusual for me unfortunately. So I dug through my front pouch without stopping and pulled out my Saje roll on of essential oils. Its a minty, magic oil. My daughter gave it to me for the trip because she knows me and loves me. Well clearly I suck at multitasking because I tried to apply it to my temples while walking and instead dripped it into my right eye. It was the immediate burning of hell's fire in my eye that stopped me in my tracks. I shut both my eyes standing there on the trail and held back my screams of desperation. After a day of losing my way, now I've lost my sight. Knowing my gear and knowing it well, my left hand reached for my water bottle in my left pocket and my right hand reached for my utility towel. I must have been a real sight with my scrunched up face. I took the cap off the water bottle and flushed out my eye, inadvertently pouring water all down my front. I used the towel to dry my now impaired eye and then grabbed tissue from my pocket to remove any remaining oils from my temples of doom. I grabbed another clean tissue from my emergency stash to dab my flaming eye as I tried to find a bench with my good eye. Close and convenient, a bench appeared so I removed my gear, sat down and nursed my scorching eyeball. Multiple people passed me and I probably looked like I was crying. No one showed concern. In fact the city folk aren't nearly as interested in the pilgrims as the country folk. It kind of feels like they see right through you.
While walking on the city streets, one lady was insisting that I was wrong and she wanted to redirect me but she didn't know I was on a mission to an escape route. I had to tell her in my terrible Spanish that I was meeting friends just so she would stop being mad at me for being a stupid pilgrim.
Smile and nod just wasn't enough for her.
When I arrived in this town, it was less than a km to my new apartment and I have a great view. As I was walking I heard a massive explosion, in fact I felt it in my chest and it startled me. I thought, sounds like a gun shot but no, it was bigger, like a canon or a small bomb. This bang has happened so many times and I've come to learn it's a Spanish firework. No lights, just boom. It's annoying AF. I have learned that before it goes 'boom', it goes 'hissss'. As soon as I hear the hiss, I stick my fingers in my ears and it protects my innards from any potential damage. It is so incredibly loud.
This feels like such an aggressive day and I just want peace.
Even a steak and salad didn't help. Ok well it did a little... and so did the 2nd glass of wine.
How about a good night's sleep and then I can wake up and start over.
I already know tomorrow is going to be a much better day.
(I've already decided)
Sleep well my friends and may your eyeballs never experience the burning hell's fire of Saje....peppermint halo essential oils.
Buenos Noches xx
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