Thinking about reaching Santiago
An adjustment to my plan
As I trained through the winter, there were many times I had doubts about whether I could walk so many miles on consecutive days. I know from previous athletic endeavors that despite preparation, the body sometimes disagrees with the goal. At times, I put my chance of reaching Santiago de Compostela at 50-50. In the final few weeks of training, I became more confident, but never sure of completing the whole journey.
As the end is in sight, I’ve started thinking about the experience of walking into the plaza of the cathedral in Santiago and what that will be like, assuming I make it. What has become apparent is that even though I’ve always wanted this to be an individual journey, the people I have spent time with over the last five weeks are an integral part of making it to the end.
Months ago, I pictured arriving on May 2, and as the stages have unfolded, I realized I was a day ahead of that pace. Looking at the final days and knowing that I had no rest days planned after León, I decided to split the longest stage this week into two days. Over the last couple of days, however, as I’ve talked to new friends, I realized that pretty much all of them are finishing on May 1. For that reason, I adjusted my schedule so that I can be with them on May 1. I finally chose my accommodation in Santiago and will stay until May 3 and then go on to Porto, Portugal until my flight to Boston on May 6.
I’ve had some aches and pains in recent days and have spent a lot more time caring for my feet and lower legs. There’s still a couple of tough stages ahead, but I’m cautiously optimistic that I will make it.
Today’s stage was shorter than recent days and pretty, but not quite as dramatic. There was fog in the valley below that we eventually descended into which kept people feeling pretty cool and comfortable. The Galicia region is known for rain, so I guess that’s why everything looks so green.
Toward the end of today’s walk, I met up with Piero from Argentina, whom I walked with a few days ago when I thought his name was Sebastian! You meet so many people on the Camino that it’s hard to keep track of all of the names. Just as we came into Sarria, our destination for today, there was a very enthusiastic restaurant owner who drew people in to try the local specialty, pulpo (octopus), by holding it above a large caldron and calling out to us. It worked and we ordered a plate to share. It tasted a lot like lobster! Nothing like the calamari that we get in the U.S. We were joined by Piero’s friends from Colombia and Paraguay, among only a handful of South Americans on the Camino.
In the afternoon, I headed out to find a quiet place to work on today’s blog entry, and do some research about hotels in Porto. I ordered a nice meal and soon Shurwa, who I met in León and who is from Queens, showed up with a friend from San Francisco and someone I hadn’t met before from Italy. Soon after, Harry arrived (sans Red Sox hat) and we had some good laughs. Once again, I was given an entire bottle of wine as part of my Menú del Día so I was glad to have help with it.
Tomorrow is a pretty big day of climbing and descending. The Camino Ninja app says that we will gain almost 1700 feet, but will descend 1900 feet. Unfortunately, only 50% of the day is on trails and the other 50% is on asphalt roads. Sometimes it’s possible to find a soft shoulder to walk on.
Galicia is a gem! Enjoy!!
Oh to be so close to the end of your journey is incredible! I’m so inspired by your blog posts. 💕💕💕