Walking West to Santiago de Compostela: Thinking About Home

To know the road ahead, ask those coming back (Chinese proverb)

Friday September 27th, 2019
Arzua to Lavacolla
30 km, 44,000 steps, 8 hours, walking day #37

As I was leaving the hotel this morning, I noticed the icon beside the button for street level. In case I needed to know which level had the concierge desk. So cute.

I had a long day today, 30 km. I wanted to reach my destination by mid-afternoon, so I got an early start. Luckily my hotel started serving breakfast at 6:30 am. As I was eating, I thought about how my breakfasts were going to change after I returned home. No more ham and cheese sandwiches, no more croissants with butter and peach jam washed down with hot chocolate, no more cake and pastry, no more yogurt mixed with local honey (all at the same meal!)

I started out at 7:15 am in full dark -- today was the first time that I started walking before sunrise. As I took my suitcase down to the lobby I realized that once I returned home, I would no longer have to pack up all my worldly belongings and place them in the foyer before I ate breakfast.

The dark streets of Arzua.

It rained overnight and the streets are still wet.

Just as I left the hotel it started to rain. What this really means is that it was cloudy, so no moon to light the way. I began walking the gravel path in the dark, behind a long line of pilgrims who had also started early. From Arzua it is 40 km to Santiago de Compostela, and it can be done by 5:00 pm if one is very motivated. I suspect most of the people leaving Arzua so early were destined for Santiago. My destination was Lavacolla, 10 km outside of Santiago. I had a flashlight but I didn't feel I needed to use it. I had my walking poles, and as I walked, I lifted my feet a few inches higher than I normally would, to avoid tripping over any larger rocks that might be in the path. Many of the other pilgrims were wearing brightly coloured rain ponchos and were using their flashlights. Ahead of me I could see a long line of gently bobbing lights which lit the ponchos and turned them into glowing lanterns for me to follow.

It's never really dark at home in the city. There's always streetlights and the general glow from all the lighting in the city (except if there's a power failure at night).

It soon started to rain in earnest. Today, my last full day of walking, was my first day of real rain. It rained for 4 hours. My hands were prunes and my legs were covered in mud. Somehow I still managed to enjoy it. I did duck into a restaurant to warm up and dry off a bit. Magically, my drip-dry pants really did drip and dry.

These are not Tribbles. These are not toys, nor are they Gremlins. These are chestnut pods, and the spines are so strong and sharp that you cannot pick these things up with your bare hands.

All the animals today were trying to stay dry. Roosters were staying under the protective roof of their shed. Sheep were huddled against the fence where there was a bit of hedge overhanging the top of the fence providing a small bit of cover. Cats were perched anywhere that they could stay dry. Except for cats, dogs and racoons, there's not much opportunity to see other animals when you live in the city.

Cat pic of the day.

The route continued through dense Eucalyptus forest. I love their grey/silver/green foliage and the way the fresh leaves smell like a mix of fresh mint and pennyroyal.