How can it be day 29 already? Surely I only got here last week, but then again I sometimes find it hard to imagine a life which involved deciding what to wear in the morning and what to do!
Last night’s communal dinner started with an excellent soup and went downhill after that! I sat with a young girl from Romania and three generations of a family from Australia. The Australians recounted that they had been ‘traumatised’ by a communal meal where they had been asked to share the reason they were on the Camino and where, shock horror, the entire meal had been vegetarian. It took me a while to realise that they were talking about Casa Susi, where Louise, Zora and I had stayed and had an excellent meal. ‘Sharing’ just enough with no pressure to do anything that made us feel uncomfortable!
As I set out this morning I was accompanied by a black dog. An actual black dog, not a metaphorical one. I’d seen several posters about not allowing dogs to follow you when on the trail = but still can’t work out how to stop a persistent dog from doing this. This particular dog followed me for nearly 10k = only leaving me when I went into a coffee shop for breakfast. I hope it got home, but surely the onus is on the owner to make sure dogs are secure?
As usual, the first part of my walk (to breakfast) was in the dark. After breakfast in Mellide the sky was lighter although there was a fog that persisted until just before noon. I tend to listen to an audio book in the dark, the story I am listening to is quite compelling and I am trying to make sure it lasts so I invented a little game. If I can see people ahead of me I turn off the audio book and can’t listen to it again until I have passed them or decided that they are moving so fast that I can’t catch them. This means that I can have little chats with people as I pass them.
In Arzua I bumped into Laura who I have seen several times over the last few weeks. I gave her Compeed in an Albergue in San Juan de Ortega. It was good to see her and catch up on Camino news. We walked together for a few kilometres, which was pleasant, before she and her friend stopped for a drink.
In Arzua several Caminos merge. The Camino de Norte and the Primitivo join the Camino Frances (the one I’m on). Suddenly there seemed to be people everywhere! I was quite glad of the fog because I couldn’t see how many people I was sharing the trail with. I was considering a late start tomorrow - given that it is the last day of the Camino de Santiago - but I think I will stick with my early start so that I get some time alone. I suspect that Santiago will be busy, and I will have lots to do - visiting the Pilgrim Office to get my Compostella as well as a new credential for the ‘Ultreia’ section of this mad adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment