Day 33 (Sunday 9 June) 42 kilometres to Santiago.
I slept badly last night for no known reason. I had expected to have breakfast at the local restaurant this morning because they had a sign advertising service from 06:30. That evidently doesn't include Sundays, however, because there was no sign of life at that hour. I go back to the albergue to finish packing and am on the trail by 07:15. The weather is again low overcast with calm winds. I put on my rain gear from the get go, but end up taking off the rain pants at the first coffee stop after the light drizzle comes to an end. Rain threatens for the rest of my walking day, but never develops.
I walk for most of the day with Minnesota Chuck, who is of a similar age and congenial company. The trail is definitely wider since the 100 kilometre point, and fairly smooth underfoot when we are not actually on pavement. I assume that this is to accommodate a larger volume of pilgrims for the home stretch. In any case, there is almost nothing that is photogenic, so I take virtually no pictures this day.
I finally raise the town of Arco do Pino towards 13:00 hours and make my way to a private albergue that is a few hundred metres off trail. I make sure that I know the shortcut route to rejoin the Camino tomorrow morning. This could be my last night in an albergue for a long time (maybe forever). Just as I sit down to compose this short blog, I note that an ambulance is out front and they are loading a young Spanish pilgrim into it. I have no idea why - I hope that it's something as straightforward as dehydration.
Tomorrow should be my last day on the Camino. I can't quite grasp that I've walked almost 800 kilometres, but there it is. The goal is in sight.
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Hi John,
ReplyDeleteLooks like you "got er done" or you're within hailing distance of the end. Congratulations!!! Peggy and I have been keeping up with your progress on a routine basis. We'll be looking for your post Camino comments. Going to do it again? Much you would do differently?