Camino Pilgrim

I saw a Camino ghost today. The man in the picture is walking alone with a limp on one leg. He has on a zipped up puffy jacket, worn out black jeans and skate sneakers. There is no backpack or water bottle. I saw the same man yesterday, 40 kilometers earlier, limping in heavy pouring rain. He does not speak, just likes to sometimes sit or stand and just stare into the distance. He usually appears out of nowhere and disappears just as mysteriously. An older lady from Australia said she also had seen this guy today and yesterday. She was already scared of him popping out of nowhere. The ghost seemed to be walking on the Camino. Not sure if Norte or the regional option split apart a little before I finished my day.

Anywho, back to my own Camino experiences. I had a big day booked. Accommodation was already set yesterday and a lot of hills and kilometers were inbetween. In terms of elevation challenge, it is on the same level as my first week in the mountains. If you put enough hills one after another, then they really start to add up.

The first highlight of the day was seeing the sunrise on the ocean at Cóbreces beach. Then the route took me quite fast to Oyambre beach, which I did not see that well because of the hill slope blocking the view. I did however, have to walk down to Merón beach towards San Vincente de la Barquera. It was really enjoyable to be down at the beach with big waves right next to you.

Right after San Vincente, I saw the ghost. I passed him, but he kept trailing me until La Acebosa village, where I saw him sitting down on a bench. I noticed a billboard showing a forest detour, skipping through a village in the hills and going straight towards my destination. By the time I had finished reading, the ghost had disappeared. As I heard from the Australian lady, he had re-appeared at the ruins of an old church near the village that I had skipped.

The forest alternative road was magical. I have practically been walking on the asphalt since Santander. So it had been days since I last had a good gravel hill trail. This one really kept going up and up. So high that I was able to see over the hills in the north and look right at the ocean.

Serdio village was the last nice part of the day. I had a pilgrim meal in the local bar and met with the spooked out Australian lady. The road towards Pesués was the worst part of the whole day. Just super busy car roads towards a national highway, next to which I will be sleeping tonight. On the plus side, I have free breakfast here.

I wonder if I will see the Camino ghost again tomorrow. My best guess is that he is heading south now, spooking some other pilgrims with his sudden silent appearances.