The alarm went off at the normal time but we continued to lie quietly in bed, not wanting to arise for fear of waking the pilgrims in their rooms below, with our creaky floorboards. Probably didn't need to worry too much because by the time we went downstairs, they were gone. Quiet as church mice. But it caused a significant delay for us. Breakfast at the 'odds and sods' (refer to yesterday's blog). Departure 08-ish. And it was a big day.
Perhaps unsurprisingly we spent much of the day going up. Not a lot of flat countryside. But there was ample positive distraction from the many villages we walked through, providing a pleasant contrast in scenery. In one village we found a neat little cafe, popular with the locals and reaching out to us. So we popped in for a Nes-tea and coffee. It was a little luxury that we treated ourselves to, totally extravagant and unnecessary, but recognising the fact that these opportunities that we have enjoyed so enormously along the Camino, are soon doomed to come to an abrupt end. The lady who served us at our table surprisingly returned with her stamp for our credential, and Jenny happily obliged. Perhaps this is yet another indication of our proximity to Santiago that the stamps are on offer without first being requested. We are on our third sheet of credential stamps, having up to now harvested just one per night at each place we stayed, with the occasional cathedral.
Beyond the villages, the cute casas and magnificent mansions with their carefully cultivated land and gorgeous gardens, we entered more forest and bushland. Largely the trail was well shaded by the trees lining the area and then turning to ancient road comprised of rock and scree. Walking here was frustrating as I managed to collect a couple of pebbles in my boot. And then a broken shoe lace. Yes, the other one! My first shoe lace broke some days ago. It would have been more prudent to change both simultaneously! Lesson learnt! (Probably not though.)
Our walking was slow and seemed to take forever, in comparison to yesterday. We stopped frequently for breaks, as well as to enjoy the scenery. It truly is stunningly exquisite land here. And not just the immediate surroundings but also looking out into the distance at the mountain ranges beyond. In one spot there was a patch of eucalypt, surprisingly. Although we have come across these Aussie trees before on our Camino, they did seem rather incongruous in this context today. Then as we walked up a small incline along the way, we came across four men whipper snipping the grass and blowing the vegetation from the bridge. They kindly paused their work to let us pass. But clearly they had no humour since when I thanked them, saying 'gracias' they should have laughed right? ('grass-ias' ... Ok, so that fell flat. Hard in real person, harder still in a blog.)
Our accommodation tonight is a basic but nice room, part of a hotel but a separate building 100 metres down the road. Room is spacious, clean, comfortable, inexpensive. Perfect for a couple of pilgrims. No creaky floorboards!
Tomorrow is a shorter day in kilometres so will give me some respite from hurting feet (heels) which seems to be an afternoon curse. However, today is the first day I did not limp, so hopefully my right leg is finally starting to recover. Jenny's massage and my stretches must be doing the trick. Hope I'm not speaking too soon.
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