Stats:
The Feast of the Archangels
St Michael—Pray for us
St Raphael—Pray for us
St Gabriel—Pray for us
From Tui Spain to O Porrino Spain
29,396 steps
12.31 miles
2636 calories burned
Destination: Small albergue with 14 room, 2 bathrooms shared
We are on the last 100 kilometers—the “official” part if you want get a Compostela. You need stamps from along The Way, to prove 100 kilometers of walking in order to get a certificate (aka a Compostela). “It’s like Pokémon,” one young man said as he walked up the church steps to look for a stamp. My credentials are at this point one of our valuables. If I lost it I would cry.
The trail is getting busier, like tributaries of humanity converging. Stretches of solitude in woods are followed by people gathering in the cities. You can tell something’s coming up The Way.
Lows: it started with breakfast in the convent before we left. You can’t say she didn’t warn us, I said. “We get a lot of complaints,” Ava the host mentioned when she asked if we wanted the breakfast for 3 euros. What a bunch of miserable, hateful people we thought, congratulating ourselves for how easy to please we are. Until 6:30 am the next morning.
I grabbed the homemade yogurt out of the fridge and when I squeezed the handle it started squirting out from the bottom all over the floor. Why would they have a handle to carry it that is also the dispenser? Wahhhh. I wiped it up and looked for a trash can. It was outside the locked door. When I went out I had trouble getting back in—dim light, had to squat down to see the numbers on the key pad. It’s a mean thing to do to peregrinos (pilgrims who have spent days walking). Hard to get back up. When I got back in Lenny had poured mueslix all over the counter because the container didn’t work right. Pam spread her toast and… what she thought was jelly. “Why do they have tomatoes sauce where the jelly should be?!” The butter was rock hard and destroyed the bread. I can’t imagine why they get complaints. It was a 3 euro donation to the convent that isn’t a convent. You get what you pay for.
Another low-Wah: The “blanket” that was on the bed was throw blanket size. Why?! Wah-Wah.
You had to decide whether you’d rather have your feet cold or your shoulders. I alternated all night long. One more low: Barry woke with a sore throat and congestion. Uh-oh. Two down, two to go.
High: we got up in the morning and could turn on the lights to pack our bags because it was only the four of us in the room! Praise. Imagine how hard it is to pack up in the dark and not wake anyone around you… it’s a miracle I haven’t lost more things.
We started walking in the dark and bats swooped. Which my friends liked. Note: some peoples’ highs are other peoples’ lows. My friend also likes walking in the rain. Everyone should have a friend who genuinely likes walking in the rain. High: The sound of our feet crunching in unison on the narrow passage way down hill from Tui, walking in synch. It’s the simple things. There is soooo much dissonance in the world right now. The crunch of our feet toward a common goal was a welcome relief.
More highs: There was a bagpiper
on the trail in the middle of nowhere! Talk about fairytales. When you first heard it, it was so faint, so off in the distance you thought you were imagining it.
TTFN, amigos!