Start: Vilalba
End: Baamonde
Distance: 12.2 miles (19.63 kilometers) and 892 feet (271.88 meters) of ascent.
Quote: “Goodbye always makes my throat hurt.” – Charlie Brown
Musings: Our walk today was not hard. It was barely over 12 miles and the elevation gain was spread throughout. So, no big hills. But I was tired and my energy waned. Partly, we are ready for a rest day, and fortunately, we have one tomorrow. After that, we have a five-day push into Santiago. But also partly, we’ve just had too many good-byes in the past few days. Most of our closest Camino friends will be finishing a day or two ahead of us. They are walking longer stages or avoiding rest days in this last week, and thus finishing ahead of us. We said goodbye to Tony and Helen this afternoon, and that was hard for me. They have been nearly daily companions since we first met and an integral part of our Camino experience. Frankly, I’ve grown to love them both in just a few short days. They will now move ahead of and faster than us, and it’s unlikely we will walk any more of the Camino together. One part of me wants to push forward to finish too, but the other part knows that both Carol and I need rest and that finishing is still not guaranteed. We’ve heard of injuries even at this late stage that have derailed other pilgrims’ plans. So, we need to continue to be mindful of our bodies and our physical needs.
My touch of melancholy was diminished a bit tonight by a wonderful dinner with our relatively new Camino friends, Cheryl and Nicole. Both are nurses, colleagues, and friends from the Sacramento area who are walking the Camino together. Cheryl has been able to trace her family history back to the Knights of Santiago, who traditionally protected pilgrims walking the Camino during the Middle Ages. She was interested in walking the Camino, in part, to engage with her ancestry. Nicole is a friend and avid hiker/backpacker who agreed to come along. Tonight at dinner, Nicole talked about how she’d backpacked various segments of the PCT but still had all of Washington State to finish. I volunteered to go along, and now it seems we have a shared goal to accomplish! Somehow knowing that old adventures can lead to new and future adventures helped to lift my spirits.
Tonight and tomorrow, Carol and I will sleep and relax. I know that rest will also serve to restore my flagging spirits. And so will the knowledge that these kind, kindred spirits who we have met and grown to love in Spain and along the Camino del Norte will remain connected to us even through the many goodbyes we’ve endured of late.
Until tomorrow then, here are the photos from today:
Carol, shortly before I lost sight of her today!
This was a bit off the Camino. I saw a beautiful little steam along the Way and just followed it for awhile.
This was an example of a really well-preserved Galician hórreo along the Camino today.
Another well-maintained/preserved hórreo in the Camino today.
Nicole in the foreground; Cheryl I. The background.
Helen hiking a bit ahead of me.
Cheryl and Nicole
Tony and Helen
This one is for Mom! Photo credit goes to Carol.
What an adventure you're having. Your melancholy reminds me of what I used to tell friends during our peripatetic expat days: If it breaks your heart to leave a place, then you've done something right. I admire the connections you've made along your camino. Happy trails for the rest of the journey.
Much as I'm sure you're ready to rest, I'm really going to miss these Chronicles (and your photos)!