We took today slow.  Very slow.  With four days of walking left to do to get to Santiago, we are savoring the people we meet, the countryside we see, the bars / cafes where we stop for food drinks and toilets.  Okay, we are not savoring the toilets.  We are tolerating them but that’s not their fault.  They get used and abused all day long.

We chatted with anyone we had met with before who passed us. We barely passed a half dozen people.  We chatted with some folks we haven’t seen before but mostly likely because they started in Sarria.

Today’s walk also took us through the clouds, or at least the fog.  We started the day with a 400m climb out of the river valley of Portomarin.  While it was dark, we could tell it was a cloudy sky but it definitely wasn’t foggy until we got to near the top of the valley.  At that point we were in a cloud as we slowly gained additional altitude when we finally were out of that while walking through a forest. On the hill, beyond the forest, we then saw the clouds or fog in all the valley below us. It was so beautiful. 

I met one British man who gave me a laugh although I had to stifle it. I was walking on a nice gravel path next to a seldom used road and he was walking on the main road. After the usual “Hola, Buen Camino”, I sensed he was not well so I asked him how it was going.  He said it was okay but his shins were starting to hurt him.  I suggested we trade places.  A common complaint on the Camino is shin splints and that is usually due to walking far longer distances on hard, flat surfaces like sidewalks and roads.  He grunted like he knew best so I didn’t insist.  He volunteered that this was his 40th day of walking so I felt bad trying to give an experienced walker some advice.  The guy obviously started in France likely deep inside the country.  I asked him where he started.  His reply surprised me, “St Jean Pied de Port”.  That is a good two and a half days of walking more than Melanie and I are doing and I applaud that but he hasn’t taken three days more than us to get here at the same time, he has taken eleven more days.  I no longer think he is doing excessive mileage each day.

We also met the star of the Camino.  Leaving Sarria, we had said hello to a young shy boy who was walking the Camino. I thought that he won’t be shy for long because everyone will want to talk to him and congratulate him for his effort. It turns out that he is nine years-old, named something like Lecia and very outgoing now. As he walked passes us, he happy high fives us and asked us our names. He knows he is a celebrity and he’s enjoying it. 

We had dinner again tonight with our Guatemalan friend who is a lovely person.  Sadly, I can’t remember her name at the moment and Melanie fell asleep two hours ago.  I better sign off and join her.

Peace y’all. 

Goodnight George, Leo & Stella. George, you have three more years before you are ready for a Camino but we’re looking forward to walking with you!