There were a lot of cats at the albergue yesterday, more cats even than people. Not feral cats, but domesticated. It’s obvious the owners love their cats because they’ve posted special signs for motorists to drive slowly in the area.
It’s been a quiet day, mostly walking through forests in the haze on this overcast day. I saw the odd farmer working the fields and plenty of dogs and farm animals. But because of the rain, views of the valley were non-existent.
We’re closing in on Santiago, with only 60 kilometers, or two days walking, to go, and I feel my thoughts turning inward. I walked alone today for 25 kilometers before I found a cafe that was open. The proprietor was delightful. She stamped my pilgrim passport, knowing I will need two stamps per day for the last 100 kilometers to Santiago to claim the pilgrim certificate. Her coffee was excellent, as was her English, and she insisted I sit and relax while she warmed my tortilla and brought my food to my table. Such a kind woman.
Birte joined me shortly afterward and then Greg and Kaitlin joined us an hour later. It was a nice long 90-minute break in the company of friends.
I’m in a private albergue in Sabrado Dos Monxes. There are 28 beds here and it looks like it’s full. Most of these pilgrims are new to me, so I wonder where they’ve been all this time. Where have they stayed these last few nights that I would have missed them?
Tomorrow morning, the Camino del Norte will connect to the Camino Frances in Arzua. I expect we’ll see quite a few new pilgrims then. The trail will become congested.
One of the highlights of the day was walking through the hamlet of Marcela. It’s very small and I didn’t see anyone there, but it has the honour of being the highest point on the Camino del Norte at 710 meters. It might not seem so high, but there have been many, many hills on this route. By the time we get to Santiago, we will have climbed over 12,000 meters, more than 3,000 meters higher than Mount Everest. Kinda cool!
