Wednesday, May 8, 2024
This morning we started hiking in Sarria, which is the minimum distance a person has to hike in order to receive their Compostela, which is the official certificate of having done the Camino. It’s just about 100 kilometers from the end.
The vibe here has really changed. The streets are full of pilgrims who have decided to start their journey here. It’s easy to spot them. Their clothes are clean, their backpacks look fresh. Their shoes, especially, are spotless. And they are full of enthusiasm. It’s fun to see them, and to know that we’ve got just about 60 miles left.
Right when we got out this morning, there was a huge group of German pilgrims, and we walked right in the middle of them. They took a bunch of pictures of us, and then they applauded as we walked by. Our family really draws a lot of attention here.
After taking a photo at the iconic Sarria sign, we got into walking. Now the Camino has a steady flow of pilgrim traffic, and we are rarely on our own.
Today was also fun because we met some really great people. Among them was a father and son from Brazil who started just a couple of days after us in St Jean Pied de Port. They said they saw us weeks and weeks ago and had thought that we would never make it. They were so happy to see that we did. We also met some really nice Aussies, and another great Dutch woman. There is a huge group of high school students from Malaga -- like 80 of them. They only have 6 teachers, and they are walking full stages like us. The don’t have to carry their packs, but it’s still pretty legit. I’m mostly impressed at the courage of their teachers who would take on that kind of challenge. Betty spent quite a while talking to a couple of the young men, and they were really respectful. I suppose we’ll be seeing a lot of them over the next week. We also met a couple of really nice Argentine ladies. One of them is a doctor, and she helped Kimball with his sunburned ears.
River has now decided that rather than get a real horse, she will be OK with having a pretend one. Occasionally, she will tell me she wants to ride her horse, and I will set her down and she will gallop for a while. It’s working out OK and giving my shoulders a bit of a rest. The only problem is that when she gets tired, she doesn’t want to ride or walk. She just wants to be grumpy.
About halfway through the day today we hit the marker for 100k left. It feels like a huge accomplishment. We are really getting close now.
