Distance: 15.23miles/24.5km
Elevation Gain: 1760ft/536m
Time: 5h 37m
I think we woke up on a different Camino this morning.
This morning we did not avoid the crowds. In fact, the decision to wake up early and get going by 7am may have been a mistake, considering that it seemed that everyone else had the same idea.
Last week, when you’re walking on the trail, you would maybe pass or be passed by one or two people at a time, maybe a bit busier if you left at a peak time, but it would spread thin very quickly and eventually it was very easy to be alone for long periods of time. Strange faces easily became familiar as the same 50 or so people were walking from town to town. Today was the exact opposite of that.
We started our way through the city as it slowly woke up. When we got to the outskirts, we were surrounded by couples, groups, families, and the occasional solo traveler. It was bustling and loud, crowded and we had to excuse our way past people constantly. My dad and I looked at each other like “oh crap, what the hell is this??”. My dad, having done two Caminos previously usually during April/May, said that he has never seen it this busy. (Turns out September is one of the busiest months, if not THE busiest month) We spent the first hour of the morning attempting to speed past people and trying to lose everyone, but every time we passed a group, another one appeared in front of them.
Along the way as we made our way past as many people as we can, we walked by two American girls we had met in the previous week, huddled around their phone looking concerned. We had already walked past but we called out to them and asked if they needed any help. They said they were fine and not to worry. As my dad and I talked amongst ourselves and shared our concerns about them, one of them caught up to us and let us know that her friend was heading back into town to take a bus to Portomarín instead, since she had been dealing with some foot pain for a few days now. We invited her to walk with us and the three of us spent a majority of the way to Portomarín chatting about our lives, my dad’s past Caminos (the girls had started on a different route further back and switched over, so this was about their 3rd week or so on the Camino), and what the next few days would look like. It was an immensely welcome distraction to the mass of people and just great company to be around. We helped her with some issues with her albergue and she was eventually able to find a new one for her and her friend. The crowds of people even thinned out in the latter half and the trail started to feel comfortable again. We eventually split off when we got to town, knowing it was likely we’d see each other again.
I can’t say I remember much about the landscape or what we saw on the walk today, aside from what we got on pictures, but it was definitely a different experience than what we’ve had these last couple of days. I guess you can say it’s just part of the journey of the Camino.
Leave a Reply