Day 39 began like many others while on the Camino, early, very early…
5:45 am alarm so we could be on the road by 6:30, before daybreak and without breakfast!
We knew it would be a long haul, anything between 22 and 32 kms depending on who you listened to or which guidebook you read. We were both hoping for a shorter distance, especially since we knew that there were a few climbs on this stretch of road.
First bit of luck, 30 minutes after our start, a caffè was open, breakfast is organized and we continue on our way.
The air is fresh, dew on the grass, mist over the creeks, rivers and hanging around the hills and valleys. There are a few other pilgrims with the same idea, one, Geoffrey, South Korean, who lives in Canada, helped get us over some railway when we followed some old yellow arrow signage and got stuck!
You could see that everyone had an extra spring in their steps, determined to make the final push towards their destination.
We too felt the exhilaration of the early start and the thrill of anticipation for the finish line! Mixed in with this was a feeling of making the day last as long as possible, savouring every moment. We greeted every pilgrim we met, entered every open church or chapel, stopped for coffee two more times and stamped our credentials whenever a solo or carimba was available.
To our surprise the surplus asphalt walking was minimal. The route had us on the main roads for the briefest of time and on parallel dirt tracks or secondary roads with no traffic for most of the way. This meant that even though we were climbing, winding and going down, it was shady, green and cool, as well as enchantingly beautiful till the entry into the city, and even then, we had a little park just before the old city southern entrance.
Without the coolness, the 27 kms would have been impossibly difficult to complete. In fact, the last 3 kms, walking along suburban pavements without shade and dripping with sweat, seemed endless, were it not for the inspiration of companion travelers hobbling and panting past us. We were all walking with physical, emotional and psychological injuries and determined to finish.
The last bit, end of the park and start of the pedestrian area of the old city presented itself, a sea of people ready to engulf all unsuspecting pilgrims. We crossed the road joined the throng and were swept steadily on towards the Cathedral, stopped occasionally by spruikers (accomodation, food, tours and begging ).
Once in the square, like rabbits in headlights, determined to control emotions…the floodgates opened and I sobbed steadily, the feeling still strong… there is something very special, very unique about the Camino.
It is an achievement certainly but hardly an end. The Camino changes you and you take that with you wherever you go and whatever you do. Buen Camino.
We are usually full of excitement for the day ahead, the people we will meet, the towns we will pass, the landscape we will cross.
The first hill diminishes both excitement and enthusiasm, so too the terrain and the sharing the road with crazy drivers, then there is the weather, too humid, too wet, too windy, too hot.The humidity saps our energy, each step twice as difficult as other days. The rain forces us to don our jackets, but we end up wet from sweat so are glad when ot stops raining.
The hill that was so difficult to climb ends up presenting you with an amazing view of the valley and villages, or a very old church. The changes in the weather brings a differing light to the trees, flowers and houses. So you stop and take photos. The rain elicits new and stronger scents of the forest. All of a sudden you have a new appreciation of the things you are seeing and you keep going, a few more kilometres down the road and a little closer to the day’s destination.
You meet fellow pilgrims, (record number today, 23), exchange some pleasantries and wave them on, as most have a quicker pace than us. We meet up with them again at a coffee stop. All of us weary, throw off our backpacks, wet-weather gear and walking poles, order coffee and pastel de nata or tostas, compare how we are doing and how we have faired over the track… and then we set off again.
Later rather than sooner… the last few kilometres seem to take much longer … we arrive find our accomodation, register and explore… local restaurant or snack bar, or maybe even a festival.
Today, 19th June in Ponte de Lima it is Vaca das Cordas… a version of running the bull. A bull, horns covered and led on a rope, gets pulled and pushed and teased down the street, towards the church, here the bull must go round 3 times.
pindun on the road to Santiago de Compostella 