A few days ago I had a full walking day. I got on the road at 6:30 am and went from Santiago de Compostela towards Finisterre. The first Refugio was 20 km away but I was running out of time, having to go back to work soon, so I did not stop there.
I knew that I would not find another place for pilgrims until about 48 km from Santiago, but I thought that I would sleep out in the nature as others did already. I was desiring to try that as well.
I walked through sleepy villages and quiet forests. All you could here was just the birds, the wind, buzzing insects and rarely a church bell or a dog.
It rained a few times along the way so looking for a place to spend the night I knew I needed a covered spot. Maybe near a church’s over-hanging roof or an old barn. I even thought that a covered spot near a church with a cemetery would be interesting, adventurous and daring, but nothing like that came along. The only “covered” place like that would have been a few coffin’s holes in construction, in a cement wall, looking like mini apartment buildings. They even had the marble ready for closing them up. For a second I thought of it! Crazy but different. For sure I could have said I had done something that none of my friends had! Still… could not do it! Too tight! I would have hit my head at some point during the night trying to get up. Good excuse!
So… I kept walking. Starving and I was looking even for green fruits in trees but no fruit tree came along my way. I decided to drag myself to the next Refugio hoping that there would be a kitchen and some pots so I could cook my own powder soup mix.
It gets dark around 10pm and I made it there just in time. By quarter to ten I was in the Refugio’s kitchen, having walked 57 km for the day (my record so far). The surprise: there was not only a fully equipped kitchen but the “hostelera” (the person in charged of the place) made a huge pot of soup for the pilgrims. She was gone home by now but the soup was still warm and more than a quarter of the pot left. Needless to say, I filled up my plate a few times, plus I had a fresh piece of bread with each plate of soup. There were also fruits for us, and not green as I was willing to eat earlier. Yet, now they did not tempt me anymore.
The Camino granted my wishes: the soup, the fruits and even the old barn I had to sleep in, since the rooms and beds were all full by this late hour. They had mattresses on the floor and the place was clean but the smell was clearly still there.
The next day I decided to walk first to Muxia and to end the Camino at The end of Terra, or in galician language Fisterra. The walk was one of the most beautiful parts of the whole trip (maybe after the first day on the Pyrenees). I loved the mountains with their forests and rivers (one I had to cross shoeless, for purification, someone thought). The flat areas were not my kind of heaven. For some people they were amazing for their immensity and boundless horizon and for the golden color of the fields. For me it was just boring. How different we all are!
My personality doesn’t go well with flat. I need the road to reveal a different view after each bend. Like in life… my life. How about you? I hope to find out the answers from you all, soon.
For now my Camino experience is over but the memories, I hope, will stay with me for eternity. I would recommend this to anyone but in reality it is not the kind of vacation some people would enjoy.
Well… I am back to work and I will see most of you soon, I hope.
With all the love,
Miha
P.S. Just one correction to one of my first e-mails. There was a Danish man that I met on The Camino and he walked from Holland to Finisterre, about 3000 km. He used to carry his backpack on a heavy duty cart and since he only spoke little English I understood that his backpack was 77kg. This was wrong. The backpack and the cart together only had 55 kg. It was himself that was now 77kg. LOL He was 103 kg three months ago, when he left Holland.