It may have been a short day of hiking, but we had a big day of interactions with people. As soon as we got up, we ran into Muz having breakfast in our Albergue. He may have been recovering from a case of dysentery like I had a while back, but he was also having some sort of allergic reaction to the bottle of wine he drank at dinner last night. Even I laid off alcohol while I was spewing at both ends–give youth credit for perseverance.
Heading out of town, we ran into Julija. She was trying to decide which option to take. We decided to take the shorter distance route over a small mountain rather than the longer road route. We left her more or less spinning in circles in the middle of the road trying to decide which route to go.
The first 4 miles of the day were a constant climb up to Alto do Riocabo (possible translation of Ricks’ Cab Mountain, but don’t quote me on that, my Spanish needs a little more work). I got to the top first (what can I say, first out of bed, first up the hill). While I was waiting for Pam to make an appearance, Muz caught up with me again. We ended up walking together quite a bit today. He just finished his degree in EE and I’m afraid I was not the most encouraging person for him to talk to.
Pam eventually showed up, but so did Edele and Adrian. While we were chatting, Shaun also came on up. His knee is giving him a bit of trouble the last couple of days. It’s making a clicking sound with every step. Luckily, he’s an Aussie, so a bad knee is much less of a problem than he normally faces in a day of dodging snakes, crocodiles, and kangaroos just getting to his car to start his day.
We all walked together for the next couple of miles. The highlight of the walk was when Edele “fell”. I admit, I was not paying close attention to her as I was looking out in the forest and Adrain was blocking my view. I just heard a thump and then saw Edele laying on her back with her little arms and legs flaying in the air. If she had been wearing green, the similarity to a turtle on it’s back would have been too great to not comment on. Instead, Adrain compared her to a baby giraffe moments after birth. I wanted to get a picture so Adrian agreed to “help her up” with a foot on her shoulder while I got my camera in position. Now I know why Adrian carries a little bitty fanny pack while Edele man handles a rucksack big enough to hold 4 peoples gear–she’s small but strong. She was up and dusting herself off before Adrain could pretend to help her up.
They are a fun couple that have decided to take a year to travel around Europe and Asia. They are good looking, intelligent, and funny–everything you envy in friends. They are the Tom Brady of the travel world; you want to hate them for their success, but you can’t because they are just such nice people to be around.
We split up with them when Pam saw a meditation donativo. We went in to get a passport stamp, a glass of orange juice, some cookies, and some suspiciously long healing hugs. Pam was in an embrace much longer than necessary. Simon is Australian and has had the meditation area for almost 3 years. He’s following his dream of trying to bring healing and help to pilgrims on the Camino.
As usual, we took lots of breaks along the way, but we still managed to make decent time today. It could have been the overcast skies, the downhill trail, or maybe we’re just getting stronger. It was the downhill trail.
We stopped on the edge of Sarria for a drink and foot breathing break. We decided to head into town for a bite before heading on up to Barbadelo. Notice the planned destination was Barbadelo.
There’s an easy set of stairs in the middle of town that all pilgrims have to ascend. It’s not more than 80 stairs, but you don’t want to do it twice. We ran into Edele and Adrain as they were getting ready to head back down to their room for the night. They didn’t realize they booked a room before the stairs and get the fun of doing the stairway 3 times instead of 1.
They recommended a place where they had eaten lunch while trying to avoid the climb back down. On the way, we ran into Kat who joined us (invited unlike some). We had a nice long lunch and reminisced about our trip so far. With only 5 days left, we’re starting to realize the end is near. I can feel that we are going to be pretty ruthless to the people just starting the Camino in Sarria–the shortest distance required to be considered a pilgrim (only 62 miles).
It was almost 4 when we decided to head on to Barbadelo. The plan was to get a little jump on tomorrows walk and keep adding a couple Km each day until we only have about a 5K walk on Friday into Santiago. George warned us that the trail was a little steep out of Sarria.
Pam and I were excited to see Casa Barbadelo which had a swimming pool. The only problem with Casa Barbadelo is that it is 1/2 mile before Barbadelo in the town of Vilei. While we were checking it out, Shaun walked on by to the town we were supposed to be going to. Pam had one job–make sure Shaun didn’t pass us. While we were registering, Katalina came up to Pam and started talking. She had walked alone all day and was trying to catch up to us (when we were actually behind her).
I ran, that’s right, ran up the trail to try to catch Shaun before he could check into another Albergue. I really wanted a pool since I never got to stay in hotels with pools when I was a kid. I caught up to Shaun just as he was heading into another albergue to register. If it hadn’t been for Linda and Pete already being there and talking to him, he’d have been in.
He came back down the trail to Casa Barbadelo when I promised him a lower bunk. He bought us a couple a beers for the long walk back. Pam met us about 25′ from the albergue saying that she was worried that I was taking so long. So worried that she had unpacked, plugged in all the electronics to charge, taken a shower, done laundry, and had a beer before coming to find us.
I headed straight to the pool to cool off after the extra mile I had put in. I was embarrassed to be seen in public with my farmers tan so I stayed in a corner of the pool. I was forced out to have my picture taken by Katalina. I’m a shy person by nature.