Once again I woke up to cloud cover but that's OK, today is still gonna be a great day. I have a routine that works for me, waking up at 6, out the door by 8. Coffee on the way... a few times.
I walked the quiet cobblestone streets on my way out of Redondela but it was short lived. I found a tiny little fruit market open and I ducked in there and bought some apples and oranges and let the herd of loud pilgrims pass me. I walked another 50' and found a coffee shop full of more pilgrims but that's OK.
I needed coffee and apparently they all did too. I drank it quickly and I put my rain gear on as it started to sprinkle . My Camino has evolved from a glorious peaceful walk in solitude to an overwhelming onslaught of tourists and pilgrims . I've gone from seeing a handful of pilgrims in a day to what must be at least a couple hundred people heading the same way with their backpacks and their poles . I left early thinking I could avoid the rush but here I am in the middle of it. At my first opportunity I'll find a place to put my feet up for a while and let them all pass me by. I learned that from Sarria to Santiago. Don't try to beat the rush. Because you won't. Let them all go ahead and just hang back and have the trail to yourself. The problem with following the masses is you tend to follow the backpacks ahead of you instead of actually looking for the signs. There's nothing more embarrassing than 75 people going the wrong way and even worse being one of the people that followed them.
I've managed to stop and take a couple pictures and put enough time between the people in front and the people behind me. Once again I can hear the morning birds singing and the very quiet hush of distant traffic, a few odd dogs barking but I don't hear the marching of hundreds of pilgrims anymore .
It took about 2 hours to adjust to the increase in population on the trail. There was simply no way to fight it so I accepted it and made the best of it.
I met 3 pilgrims from London, Sean and his married friends Liz and Eugene (originally from Malaysia) that were lovely to talk with. We passed eachother a few times. I hope to see them again.
It was a rainy walk for the most part which made it hard to take many pictures. Climbed 2 giant hills and walked through mostly forests. There was a small town somewhere in the middle where I took shelter from the hard rain for awhile in a lavanderia until a group of 50 tried to squeeze under there with me.
I carried on and ended up following a local couple arguing in spanish. I thought it was a father, mad at his daughter, but when the 4 foot tall woman turned back to look at me, I could see she was elderly. Could have been his Mom. She was really mad with him and her tiny legs were stomping angrily away from him.
After passing the days entertainment, I came to an old Roman bridge and it was beautiful.
The old rocks had a sheen from the rain and a perfect spot on the other side provided shelter and a much needed 2nd coffee.
The jet fuel propelled me up a steep climb through the village where I met a lovely local older woman. She was on her way with her pimento plants to tend to her garden.
We walked and talked in Spanish and with a few portuguese words used as substitutes for my limited vocabulary...I thanked her for spending her time with me and we parted ways, both smiling.
The forest, even with all the pilgrims, was calming and my feet were surviving. But when I was approaching the city and the 6kms of pavement, my feet were quickly giving up.
The inner city trail was typical but didn't cause the anxiety of Vigo. It was well marked with arrows and a fairly direct route to my castle.
I splurged on a Parador and I am Queen for the night.
I found it easily and was greeted well. The lobby was beautiful and the bar, very chic.
The carpeted walk through the halls to my quarters felt like heaven for my feet.
My room is antique looking and has a fantastic view.
I also have a tub to soak my royal aching bones.
I had seen a few sights on my way in to town but will likely see more in the morning.
I'm considering a day off.... skipping a day of walking just to have a day without pain.
Everyday starts pain-free but at the 15k mark I am really struggling... this is not normal for me. 26k is my normal pain marker...and I'm far from that on this trip.
I went for a wander and bumped into my favourite pilgrim, Bruno.
We shared more laughs over wine and cerveza and made plans to meet up for dinner later when they serve food. It's very difficult to wait until 8pm to eat but it's also very difficult to have a big meal at lunch and then try to hike it off.
While we sat there telling stories and laughing, I saw an older woman walking towards us down a wet, slippery cobblestone lane. She slipped, falling backwards and I saw her right lower leg bend awkwardly at the knee, underneath her. I bolted out of my chair and ran to her. She had no idea how well I could relate to her immediate feeling of shock. I think it took her a moment to wrap her head around what just occurred. I put my hand under the back of her head as a pillow and right with me was Bruno and a half dozen Spanish speaking people. The communication was left to them. I just held her head... nothing else I could do. She then insisted she was fine, as I did when I fell, despite not being fine. Her ankle was already swelling but like a trooper she got to her feet with help, thanked everybody and walked on.
I too left the scene and went back to my castle to transform from a pilgrim to a princess....but just for one night.
The stylish hotel bar provided a perfect place to meet for a pre dinner drink before walking to a modern, fancy, schmancy restaurant. The fantastic company compensated for the poor service of the super friendly waiter. He meant well and we enjoyed ourselves despite the challenges. It was a lovely evening but "we still don't talk about Bruno"
Buenos Noches x
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