Camino - Entering Galacia

We have completed day 8 of our Primitivo walk and spirits and stamina are still sound. Tomorrow we walk to Lugo and the next day join up with the Camino St. Jean or the classic Camino trail for the walk to Santiago in two days. This is close to where pilgrims get bused to the trail in order to walk the last 100km thereby qualifying for the Camino completion certificate. Of course we Primitivos are contemptuous of that lot. The pilgrims who have done the entire walk from St Jean Pied du Pont are not doubt contemptuous of us so what the heck.

In the first few days I was unsure how I felt about this version of the Camino as I loved the expansive vistas of the classic route. Somehow this seemed like a walk along the Bruce Trail. But that has given way to an appreciation of the nature of these Asturian 'mountains' ( we have just left the province of Austuria and are now in Galicia) with small farms grazing cows, pathways that seemed cut from the landscape with stone retaining walls and very few coffee stops along the way. There is a truism that applies to the Primitivo - if you see a hill ahead you will be soon climbing it. You go down, you go up - there is very little level ground. Fortunately the hills are just that and there are very few truly onerous switchbacks.

We continue to meet wonderful people and are impressed by the commitment many have made to make walking a central part of their lives. This includes many young people who stay in the dormitories of the Albergues or hostels that offer shelter to pilgrims. And folks of means as well - like Jeff and Karen the Australian doctors who carefully plan their Caminos to include stays in the dorms and inns. All tell horror stories of the three Portugese men who's snoring has driven people half mad.

Sue has been dubbed 'The Vancouver Express' by our Irish wag who marvels at her climbing power. I confess after yesterdays 32km walk in the heat up hill and dale I was letting an unhealthy dose of negativity take over as she slowly left me behind, chatting all the while to others. "Damn it this is suppose to be a togetherness thing! She has totally forgotten I exist. Channel Thich Nhat Hanh, breathe, release, enjoy each step". And as I looked down on a particularly hot ascent I read the words I first saw on my favourite mural in Vancouver - 'The Present is a Gift'. Love the hills as soon we will join the fray as we stream into Santiago.

Images of beauty abound and so do memorable details and experiences. I was walking along the trail - Sue well in front 'natch' - when a suction tipped arrow fell at my feet. I picked it up, looked around for the archer and sound found him up a tree. He didn't want me taking his picture as, as best I could tell from my limited Spanish, his father would be mad. Over cervezas at the end of the day I heard of another pilgrim who was 'shot at'. Clearly not an accident. Yesterday a similar aged young lad, with gun in holster, had positioned himself at a closed gate pilgrims had to pass through. Odd as the trail is well marked and unimpeded. In the middle of nowhere this boy was manning this gate.

It's a holiday weekend in Spain. The sun is shining and temperatures are going to rise. There is a mild buzz on the trails as locals take to walking parts of the trail over the weekend. More coffee stops are appearing. Groups with packs even smaller than mine and Sue's are stopping for lunch and ordering bottles of wine. It feels as though we are coming down from the hills, through a persistent mist that envelopes valleys, and entering a stream to Santiago.