Stepping outside my albergue in the early morning mist to check on the weather, my bare foot landed squarely on a big fat slug. That was the start of my day.
It got better, though, despite walking in the rain for the first three hours. I liked it in Cobreces and wasn’t in a hurry to leave. It’s not a spectacular town, but it’s comfortable, like home, situated at the top of a hill overlooking the fields and ocean.
Behind the Church of St Peter ad Vincula is a monument to pilgrims. It isn’t the most beautiful of monuments, more an image of a pilgrim cut out of a sheet of metal, but the thought and work to build it is greatly appreciated.
The church itself is quite striking from a distance, with its pastel red colour and prominent towers. But this Neo-Gothic church is falling apart. Up close, you can see the paint is peeling off the outer walls, the foundation is damaged, and the graffiti artists have started to make a mess of it. The church looks quite dreary up close, even more so in the rain.
In contrast, the Cistercian abbey of Viaceli right next to the church, with its fresh-looking sky-blue exterior, looks fabulous. Even the grounds are esthetically pleasing with all the blooming flowers. It’s almost as if the religious leaders of each structure were competing, with the leader of the abbey winning by a landslide.
The walking today was okay, but not particularly memorable. Most of the route was on asphalt and when it strayed off the highways, the views were limited. I took at least one wrong turn, noticing that a few pilgrims followed me down the wrong path, but I probably didn’t add much distance before making my way back onto the official route.
I stopped for a coffee and tortilla in Serdio, but none of my friends showed up after a half hour. Not knowing whether they were behind or ahead, I carried on to Colombres.
There are quite a few pilgrims on the Camino now. On a long hill, I passed about 15 people I had never seen before. And the albergue in Colombres, which has 120 beds, is full for the night. Compared to the first week, when most of the pilgrims looked younger and fitter, I’m now seeing an older cohort of pilgrims, many of whom have already completed a camino, primarily the Camino Frances or the Camino Portuguese.
I saw Vera on the trail today, probably for the last time. She is a fascinating 30-year-old Rotterdam resident, who quit her job as a marine lawyer to cycle the coast around France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy for four months to raise money for the ocean clean up. Her joie de vivre is infectious and instead of using words to express her thoughts, she uses funny dramatic expressions. For example, instead of saying “the rain was annoying”, she says, “the rain was aaahhhh!” And she opens her eyes wide and throws her hands wildly into the air. I laugh, she apologizes for her gestures, and I tell her never to change. Such an adorable personality.
I’m reunited with Birte, Greg, and Kaitlin after a day of solitude. The wine is poured, the chocolate has been consumed, and we’re catching up on the details of our day. Tomorrow, we want to stay in a town called Poo, just so we can say we did.