· James Torr · Personal  · 2 min read

Today is the last big day before arriving in Santiago. 29 km, 6 hours walking straight. With breaks, it ends up being more like an 8 hour day. Breakfast in cafe central from the night before is a "Napolitano": a pan au chocolat, and a cafe con leche, with milk always because the Spanish coffee is, let's be charitable here, more drinkable with milk. Our small group joins up with the Spanish couple from the previous night who are having breakfast outside their hotel, a place that looks like The Overlook Hotel had a lovechild with a brutalist Soviet block of flats.

Day 26: Sun 28 Sep, Palas de Rei – Arzúa 29.2 km

Today is the last big day before arriving in Santiago. 29 km, 6 hours walking straight. With breaks, it ends up being more like an 8 hour day. Breakfast in cafe central from the night before is a “Napolitano”: a pan au chocolat, and a cafe con leche, with milk always because the Spanish coffee is, let’s be charitable here, more drinkable with milk. Our small group joins up with the Spanish couple from the previous night who are having breakfast outside their hotel, a place that looks like The Overlook Hotel had a lovechild with a brutalist Soviet block of flats.

We walk three hours to get to our halfway point, Melide, which is famous for it’s pulpo, boiled or grilled octopus. It’s a nice rest stop and halfway point and we leave feeling refueled and fresh for the remainder of the walk.

The scenery is lush green all the way, similar to the UK in some ways but different. Rural life here in Galicia harkens back to a different age, long gone from south east England, and existent further out from that developed corner: Wales, Cornwall, further north. Agricultural life is baked into the clay earth of this part of Spain. Granaries on stilts (orreos) populate every village, livestock cover every spare space, chestnuts carpet the floors, mosses and pennyworts cover the local dry stone walls.

It’s a tiring day, but the fresh wind constantly brushing through the trees is comforting and calming. After a few hours of rest, we have our penultimate pilgrim night with some rice. It’s almost like the start of a joke. An Italian, a Spaniard and an Englishman walk into a 24 hour store to see what they can make for dinner. The food is good, not typical for our Italian companion but he enjoys it nonetheless. We laugh and joke, and enjoy good companionship.

We wonder whether this little bubble we are in is real, and the very different world we’re heading back to in a few days is unreal. Life on the Camino is simple and distraction free. We have time for each other, to share moments, to laugh and be close to one another. I hope I can take some of that spirit back with me, both to share with old friends, and remember with new.

Photo 1Photo 2Photo 3Photo 4Photo 5Photo 7Photo 8Photo 9Photo 10Photo 11
Share:
Back to Blog

Related Posts

View All Posts »
Day 27: Mon 29 Sep, Arzúa – O Pedrouzo 19.4 km

Day 27: Mon 29 Sep, Arzúa – O Pedrouzo 19.4 km

I awake in the dorm, my mind skips around in the dark, the muffled light snoring entering my ears through my plugs is a comforting sound, but not enough to send me back to sleep. The last few days have seen our little group become very close. Tomorrow is the beginning of the end of that particular form, and the end of 28 days of walking for me. The thought of this starts some waves of overwhelming emotions.

Day 25: Portomarín – Palas de Rei 25 km

Day 25: Portomarín – Palas de Rei 25 km

My French walking companion and I decide to leave early to avoid the crowds. It takes us about an hour to pass most of them in the dark before we're ahead of the pack. Like the Tour de France, but with trekking poles, backpacks with shells hanging off them and dorky outdoor clothing. When we finally get to the top of the hill, we're almost at the sunrise, it's marvellous view, and we're almost on our own. We stop at a cafe for breakfast, others catch up.

Day 24: Sarria – Portomarín 22 km

Day 24: Sarria – Portomarín 22 km

I'd heard about the crowds starting in Sarria, and to some degree I was prepared mentally for it. I'd not walked the three plus weeks that the full-timers had, but it was a stark contrast between the quiet Galician countryside today. The walk is pretty our little group leaves after 8, and there are dozens of fellow pilgrims on the way out of Sarria. The vast majority are tourists, starting from Sarria. A beautiful sunrise passing through a pine tree is punctuated by dozens of photographers, including myself of course.

Day 23: Triacastela – Sarria 18 km

Day 23: Triacastela – Sarria 18 km

Sarria, my French walking companion and I decide, is the beginning of the end. For him, this is much enhanced, he has been walking since early September. Even I feel this, eleven days into my trip. The tourist pilgrims start in Sarria. They arrive en masse, and walk the bare minimum required to get their pilgrim certificate in Santiago.