On the Camino

We had a full 30 minutes lay in this morning meaning that we did not get up until 6:30 and set off again in the dark but today the route started off on the quiet road and spent time passing through a lot of little villages so the route was easier to find. Our torches did scare a hare which was in a field to the side of us and we saw his as he ran off quickly.

This morning we got up at six and I wrestled with a sleeping bag which seemed determined that it did not want to be packed away. We set off in the dark using our torches to navigate and even though we were in a heavily wooded area managed to find our way alright.

Depending which guidebook you trust we either had a 10.5km walk today or a 12km walk. either way it was a nice short day, much better than the 28km alternative and the worry about beds that that would have ensued. Most other people in the albergue though were obviously going for the longer distance as we heard people moving at 5:20 (including the man in the bunk below me who had been snoring loudly all night). There were though a few people still in bed when we got up so we packed our sleeping bags away in their covers quickly and took everything else downstairs to pack so that we didn't disturb anyone. This packing of course entailed packing away all of the extra food we had bought the night before making my bag at least a kilogram heavier (making me extra happy that this was  to be a short day's walk!).

For anyone who is interested there is a research group on Pilgrimage and Cathedrals with a questionnaire at http://pilgrimageandcathedrals.ac.uk/survey/visitor . It seems to be primarily about visits to cathedral in the UK but the first question has an option for 'other' Cathedral visited and they seem interested in information from outside the UK so if you have five minutes you can perhaps have a look.

Today's walk was about 20 kilometres and started with a long climb out of town to get out of the valley that the town lies in - as you are walking so near to the coast there are a lot of valleys to go down into and to climb out of (more than in the last 100km of the Camino Frances) as you walk by the rivers that run into the sea.

Becky said to me today that it is strange - the day that you arrive in Santiago is, in many ways, just like any other on the Camino as you settle into your accommodation and look around the place you have reached. It is not until the next day when you fail to pack your bag and start walking that the strangeness of arrival gets to you - you are not going anywhere, you are not collecting sellos or wishing anyone a 'Buen Camino', you are staying still and will not be discovering a new place today.

Today was a late start as we set off a bit after 8 cutting across the town to get to the Camino just as me and Dad had 18 months ago when we had walked the Camino Ingles (see  http://footprintsonthecamino.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=camino+ingles ) indeed we would follow not only the same route as then but largely stay in the same places as there is very little choice of accommodation on the Ingles.