October 17, 2023. We chose to stay in a hostel our last night after shying away from them often. Our own experiences had been middle to negative , with exceptions. But we’ve had to reconsider that bias as this house was gorgeous. The moment we walked in we were greeted by a generous, gregarious Italian woman who helped us to get settled even though she didn’t work there. She was just a pilgrim helping another pilgrim. A fire burned in a fireplace positioned to give radiant heat to everyone’s wet boots, and it worked perfectly to dry things out. In the evening we shared some food; others shared with us and we shared dance with each other as mentioned yesterday. So we have been wrong about hostels.
This morning we arose before dawn, grabbed a little breakfast from the hostel kitchen, and headed out into the dark morning. Our headlamps lit the way as we walked north along a busy highway, N-550, that leads to Santiago. The cars were fast and there was little clearance from the shoulder. Yesterday the church we passed was so close to the highway, that we had to turn sideways to keep less than 1 foot width so that our bodies did not stick out into the roadway as trailer trucks sped by without seeming to let up on the gas for pedestrians. As we trudged forward, we succeeded in getting 1/2 km up the road without incident before the Camino headed off into the woods. We were glad to have headlamps as we headed into the darkness. But we still too two wrong turns and added on another 1/2 km before regaining the route. The sky began to lighten under the leaden clouds and slight drizzle.
After 5 km we stopped at a cute little store for some cafe con leche and a Santiago tart ( it’s like a Little flat cake made with almond flour. He was very interesting and all of his shelves were filled with historic typerwriters, radios and other devices. We both enjoyed our chat.
Then back on the trail we continued and begain to approach the outskirts of the city where we had to descent to tunnel under some freeways. The trail remained remarkably natural with trees, grass, and gurgling creeks most of the way. It was only in the last 2 km that we climbed into a suburban housing area with large condo buildings. It started to rain on an off a bit as we walked but now it became steadier. I put on my full force field rain combo and put the camera away.
Soon we recognized the streets approaching the Alameda and old city, and walked into the main plaza of the church. People were arriving from every direction by foot and bike, kissing and hugging each other.
It’s been a successful camino, we didn’t split up or have serious physical problems, and we pushed ourselves over 280 km without breaking. Now we’ll have a few days to spend in Porto, Portugal. After the noon pilgrim mass at the Cathedral tomorrow, we’ll catch a bus to Portugal
Congratulations!
Did you get your seashells?
Yes, Gary. You might be interested in the fact that, orginally, the shells were obtained when people finally reached the sea. We passed the site where they believe people would pick up the shells. But in later years, like maybe the last 100 years, people purchased the shells at the beginning of the Camino as an emblem of their intention. We carry them on the sides or backs of our packs to show what we are doing, though you can pick out a pilgrim easily without seeing the shell.