Camino Pilgrim

The morning today was really fun. The adventure started once again before sunrise. There are not many people living in the region. Just small villages. You can see the stars clearly, even with streetlights nearby.

The road was jumping between tiny villages and completely dark forest roads. Mourning walks were the last time this fun in the desert. It was early, so that not many other travelers were around. I could quietly focus on taking pictures.

The fog was so heavy that the sunlight barely made any difference. I spent all morning taking nature pictures in the fog at 7 degrees (celsius) while wearing just shorts with a T-shirt. The closer I got to Portomarín, the more interesting everything got. It’s a small town surrounded by a massive river and you need to cross long bridges to get in and out of the place.

Once Portomarin was behind me, the sun was fully out and fog started to disappear. It was a nice soft forest road to go on. I did some meditation while walking. Things become so much clearer every time. Solutions pop into your head that you couldn’t see before because of the clutter that was there earlier.

Before I even noticed, I was already at the place I’m staying for the night. Hiking 30km is starting to become quite natural. Legs do hurt at the end of the day, but I forgot to do any breaks today. I just kept going.

There are a lot of pilgrims now. Most people start around Sarria, which is only 113km from Santiago. It’s the shortest distance from Santiago to get approved by the church after finishing. After almost four weeks of hiking, it is easy to pass these new groups that take a rest at every village. They visit every café and are great for boosting the local economy.

Sarria pilgrims do have large numbers but often lack a certain discipline and training. For a lot of them, it’s just a great way to keep in shape and do some Nordic walking. Whatever their reason is, I’m happy that they enjoy spending time outdoors just like the people I started my journey with.