Around the Bend
To start, it is incredibly important to point out that Miriam, the young girl from Berlin, is the hero of the day. More on that story in a bit.
Breakfast was solid, and it was welcome after a little bit of a noisy night. I could hear snoring and sneezing from down the hallway. The ear plugs help, but they are not a total solution. Lots of these hotels have hard floors and walls with very little carpeting or anything else to absorb sound. The good thing is it helps keep the rooms immaculately clean. The downside obviously is that they can be noisy.
Our hotel was on the far side of town, so as I took off I encountered more and more people emerging from their hotels and albergues. It didn't take long to exit the city and find myself back on trails through farm and grazing land.
For the first 90 minutes or so the scenery was unremarkable and the trail was mostly level. Then the hills began. It wasn't as high as the Pyrenees, or as treacherous as climbing to the Iron Cross in the dark, but it was a continuous circuit of ups and downs.
For the most part, the surfaces were pretty well groomed, and the crowd thinned out once we started to get some altitude. There are several more stops along the way, most of them offering stamps, or "sellos" as they are displayed on the signs. Once again, some were offered up for free along the trail and others were inside the shops and coffee bars to draw in customers. The designs varied wildly, and make for an interesting collection in my stamp book.
Whenever the trail ran alongside a road, it was not uncommon to see buses transporting pilgrims up and down the length of the Camino. There were even some who exited a taxi at the 100-kilometer point yesterday, took a picture, got back in the cab, and pressed on in a Westerly direction.
On the topic of roads, we passed construction of what looks like a major highway. In the foreground you can see the work, and in the distance, which we passed later on the trail, there was more construction. It was odd that there was no equipment or personnel continuing the labors. It looked as if no progress had been made for a long time.
A few hours in, I found myself alone on the trail again. It was delightful to walk through the forest by myself. Trees lined both sides, the air was heavy with the fragrance of blooming flowers, and it was silent.
It isn't all together uncommon to come across a split in the trail. Luckily, at this intersection there was a map clearly pointing out what the options were and which way was recommended.
If you look closely, you can see there is an area that shows "penas," or penalties. Based on the picture I can only guess that the road is torn up and very rocky. Clearly, I did not go that direction.
Descending down a hill and around the bend, I came upon a small creek. The same trail also served as a road for local traffic. There were the impressions of tires in the dirt, and across the stream were deep furrows in the mud. The only other option was to cross a stone bridge that was definitely not OSHA approved. I imagined some individuals with limited flexibility and balance looking at both options, and choosing to press through the mud to avoid the risk of toppling into the river. It was a long way back to take any other option.
For the first time, as we passed through one of the largest cities, store keepers started to actually shout out to passing pilgrims to bring them into the restaurants or shops. It became more of a carnival scene than any type of quiet passage. We will see if that continues tomorrow.
Now to the story of how Miriam became the hero of the day. About 5 km from today’s destination, we all ran into each other at a coffee shop. It was Spence, Miriam, Fred and Beth, the mother and daughter from England, Joseph from Belgium, and myself.
We checked the mileage to town and then the mileage to our hotel. There was a difference of over 10 km. It was then that Miriam showed us, on her itinerary, that we should plan to be transported by taxi to our hotel. We booked with the same travel company and had no such indication in our comments section. Had it not been for Miriam pointing out what we should have been told, Spence and I probably would have found ourselves walking down the highway for an extra hour and 10 minutes. So, clearly, Miriam is the hero of the day.
The country house where we stayed was fabulous. Very rustic, but very comfortable as well. The entry was splendidly done and framed by wisteria, with swallow nests in the eaves.
Dinner was served to all the guests at 8 p.m. and was a choice of beef or two types of pork. We all reflected on how difficult this trip would be as a vegetarian.
As we get set to go to sleep, a thunderstorm starts moving through the area. The proprietors are turning off all the lights in the building, and it is quiet except for the occasional thunder. With any luck, we will get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is a short day. We’ve got only about 24 miles left to Santiago.