Day 10 and just like that -- our Camino would soon be over. After what seemed like a never-ending 18 kilometres yesterday, today would require only ten kilometres to get us from Rua to Lavacolla. And after Lavacolla? Santiago de Compostela of course and the end of the Camino.
But first, we had to exit Rua -- passing by the Centro Social Cultural at the edge of town.
It was nice to breathe in the clean scent of eucalyptus so early in the morning.
Sheep were grazing peacefully as we walked past.
Before we knew it, we had walked three kilometres ... today was proving to be an easy walk indeed.
The Camino awakens your senses to every thing around you. It was impossible not to see the tiniest flower. I could hear the laboured breathing of other peregrinos as we hiked up steep hills.
And I could smell the clean country air -- though sometimes it came with a hint of cow dung.
We passed through cornfields where the stalks were just waist high.
A brook, a stream -- they always made for a relaxing rest spot along the Camino. Add a charming stone bridge and you have a rustic and photogenic moment.
We soon reached the entrance to the village of Amenal, but first we had to go through an underpass.
I crossed my fingers that a highway wouldn't be waiting on the other side.
Surprise! There was al fresco dining! And the rest of the Amigos were lounging around, getting digitally connected and enjoying a mid morning snack.
We took our sweet time knowing that our goal, Lavacolla was just about four and a half
kilometres away.
From Amenal, we toiled up another uphill gravel track reaching Cimadevilla. The walking notes clearly stated that the track would continue to ascend from here.
and gravel and chunks of big rocks to stumble over, you really have to be careful. A twisted
ankle can bring a lot of pain and worse, can even mean the end of your Camino.
Here's the K. 12.5 marker. The very last kilometre marker along the Camino. From hereon in, we would no longer be guided by these familiar mogotes.
So of course, that called for a group-fie. We had come to depend on the mogote to tell us how long (or short) we had walked, how many more kilometres we needed to go through. We sometimes cursed him and we sometimes celebrated with him ... Señor Mogote was our friend. He would be missed.
We left Señor Mogote and came upon this other stone statue greeting us at the edge of the highway.
The pilgrim path runs right along the edges of the Santiago de Compostela airport, which despite its name is really located in the town of Lavacolla.
A wire fence all along the airport property kept me from running in and highjacking a plane ...
fly me to Santiago de Compostela!
This little watering hole almost seemed out of place along the dry and dusty path.
Just before Lavacolla is the village of San Paio where a cafe yielded another sello for the day.
San Paio's small and pretty Romanesque church is surrounded by leafy greenness. The town is named after a young Christian boy who was martyred for refusing to give up his faith.
There is an antique stone house right in front of the church -- with a se vende sign. I think I could live a very tranquil life, here in San Paio.
From San Paio, it was just a kilometre or so to our hotel in Lavacolla. The ten kilometres of Day 10 had ended -- time for the peregrinos and peregrinas to raise a glass and toast the Camino!
A glass of Galiacian Ancino wine and a dish of paella de marisco welcome us at the lunch table. Salud and buen provecho mi amigos! Tomorrow we finish our Camino.
No comments:
Post a Comment