Milestone today: I’m halfway to Santiago de Compostela on the Camino del Norte. My feet enjoyed a smorgasbord of surfaces to walk on today: wooded trails, gravel roads, stone walkways, highways, grass, and even wooden slats.
I walked nearly the entire day with Birte from Germany. I didn’t get my usual 20-minute head start on her this morning, so she was able to catch up to me after an hour when I took yet another wrong turn. Birte is very focused and has a strong pace. She is friendly, slowing to talk to other pilgrims we pass on the Camino, but then she’ll say her goodbyes, refocus, and then set off on her fast pace again. She’s good company. We can walk for hours only saying a few words to one another, and then we can chat up a storm for an hour without a pause. Birte is new to the language, but speaks Spanish fearlessly, having improved considerably since we started the Camino two weeks ago.
We passed a couple of abandoned monasteries today, one of which the guidebook says is accessible to the curious pilgrim. But when I got to the Monasterio de San Antolin, there were large no trespassing signs, so I opted not to enter the grounds.
One of the highlights of today’s walk was seeing the picturesque Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Dolores (Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows) just outside Barro. Seeing the parish and the village reflected in the lagoon was fabulous.
We walked through many small towns today, but it wasn’t until we reached Nueva that we found an open cafe. Within a half hour, Birte and I were joined by Greg, Kaitlin, and three other pilgrims, all women, and all traveling alone. One is from Holland, one from Italy, and a young woman named Docoma, which means wanderer, is from Germany. Docoma is taking her first solo trip at age 22 at the suggestion and encouragement of her mother. Docoma said she has had some anxiety on this solo journey, but is managing okay. Like me, she is quite introverted, but the Camino has caused her to meet and talk to many new people.
Birte and I looked at an expensive albergue in Ribadesella, where Greg and Kaitlin have rented an apartment for the night. But 21 Euros seemed pricey and it was still early, so we pressed on another 5+ kilometers to the Albergue de Peregrinos in San Esteban de Leces, a much smaller and quieter albergue. It looks like this place is part of a much larger religious structure, with an excellent garden in the back in which to relax and listen to the birds and distant cow bells.
