Close to Santiago

8 October 2017
BOOK: Oh The Places You’ll Go by Dr Seuss – not currently reading it, but it is one I have thought about a lot on this trip

SONG: Being Here sung by Van Morrison – this one comes up often in my songlist and my heart. There are so many times in any given day when it feels like one or all of you are here with me in some way. It is a warm feeling of the highest order!

THOUGHT: I am just a country girl…

That country girl thing of mine is well-served in this walk. I have spent most of it in wooded areas…Oak and Chestnut forests, Eucalyptus forests, and even a spread of something wildly similar to the Pine Barrens in So Jersey. 

Scrub pine in the middle of a lot of scrub cedar…not a place for tall people to hide

Oak and Chestnut crazy beautiful

Eucalyptus forest

I have to go through cities, but quite a while ago I realized that staying in them was not optimal. I do make many more acquaintances however and have refined my torturous Spanish. I stop at least every block and sometimes twice on a long one to verify that I am still on the Camino. 

He’s my best guide…he knows!!!

Fortunately it is Sunday morning and the city is not “teeming” here in Arzua

 I know that “directo” means straight ahead, but does not always account for the slight forks that happen. Old people are the best in directions. They really know the Camino and have time to explain exactly how you need to go. I had one shop-keeper leave her store and walk me to the end of the block and around the corner onto a tidy little forked turn. She crossed the street to assure that I would not take the wrong direction and clapped me on the back, wished me a buen Camino and went on back to work.

 I am grateful for a small village where there are only 10 to 20 buildings. The choices are pretty obvious. Cow crossing signs replace the Yield signs. 

My kind of “city”

Happily, I was eating the pork! I had the street side table at the only restaurant in town

Heading home from a hard day at work, making milk…

 Traffic is a completely different set of issues…stepping in cow pies is occasionally difficult to avoid, depending on how many cows are on the move at one time.

They pass by my restaurant and I pass by theirs…fair enough

Best ever signage…no relationship to speed of any sort

I am in my albergue and settled. Wash is done and almost dry. Before dinner “saunter” is done and there are only 15 minutes before dinner starts being served. Tomorrow will be a long day, but Tuesday I will go into Santiago at around noon and I will get my papers issued, hope for the Botifumero mass (the huge swinging incensor) and I will spend a day just being in this very big city.  

After that I leave for the sea…the “end of the earth” which I will see from both Finisterre and Muxia. I have enough time to walk them both and still have a full day at each one. If I love the places enough to want to stay a bit longer, I will take the bus back to Santiago. 

PS:  At 5:30pm this evening, I hit my millionth step walking through a Euclayptus forest.  I was counting!  It looks like I still have another 250,000 upcoming.