When I left my hotel before sunrise this morning the moon was high and there were thousands of stars in the sky. Couldn’t get a photo, but it was so wonderful to know that it would be a clear day! I had stayed at a place just south of town and it was the stop for a tour of Spanish high school students… 60 young people on the hallway resulted in some fairly typical noise levels. Thankfully they were walking the Camino as well, so were tired and settled down early!
Geraldine (from Ireland) and I left walked together to meet Karen and Kim who stayed in town, and we had a delightful morning as the route took us through wooded pathways and rolling hills and farmland. Not surprisingly, many villages are organized around the rivers, so there’s quite a bit of down into a village, and then up to the path, and then down into another… the climbs can be strenuous at times and the descents can wreak havoc on your knees!
At our stop for coffee we met a couple from Madrid who had adopted a stray kitten in Sarria and were walking it along the Camino in one of those paint buckets you can buy at Home Depot. The kitten is probably a month old, and terribly cute as it cuddles into their laps. There was a spot along the Way with the biggest scallop shell of all, and a lovely old Roman bridge over the Rio Furelos. We lost Geraldine in Melide, as that was her stop for the day, and had a long lunch of something other than a pilgrim’s meal…. pizza!
The hills and landscape for the next 13 km was mostly farmland, and a few sections of deep wooded track, and more hills! And lots of green and black and white. When we arrived in Arzua, Karen was staying in a hostel just south of town, Chris was meeting up with Vicky just north of town, and I had to arrange for a ride to a casa rural about 10 km out of town. We will find a way to meet up tomorrow.
At Casa Brandariz I met Sue and Jim from the Seattle area and they invited me to join them for dinner, which was, in true country fashion, delicious. Getting here in a taxi was the first time in at least 4 weeks that I had travelled somewhere other than by my own foot power (aside from the horses, and I probably neglected to mention how hard it was to walk after 2 hours in the saddle!). It was strange to see cornfields pass by so quickly and to think that we travelled 10 km in 10 minutes, a distance that would take about 2 hours to walk. Returning to the world of trains, planes, and cars will be strange at first and likely will take only minutes to get used to. Like riding a horse.
Biggest scallop ever!
Sarria the kitty
Roman bridge
in case you’ve forgotten what I look like
What’s B&W on the Camino? Part 1
B&W on the Camino, part 2
How could I ever forget what you look like…You look radiant! I like seeing you with sun on your face. It made me think of our times at your pool in EG and at the beach on the Vineyard. Gosh, why does the sun feel so good on our bodies?
That is the biggest scallop shell I have ever seen. Right up there with the biggest ball of string! Quite beautiful, really!
You’re closing in on the home stretch! Kind of makes me sad…it has been a joy following your journey dear friend!
Sleep well…..