Please be aware that I am writing this on my iPhone and any spelling errors are as a result of the the platform being used not necessarily of the operator.
So this was the day that I was dreading because I knew it would be a long day and it was 18 km. Well it was a really long day and it started to get hot early. But we also made it a point to stop regularly. Our plan was to get up at 6 and to leave for 6:30. One look outside at the pitch black streets and we went back to sleep. I had not slept well so one part of me was all for sleeping in and getting a taxi to the halfway point but I didn't.
As we were getting ready I kept hearing the sounds of walking sticks out the window. I was to discover in a little while that the start of today's walk was on the road under our window. Just as we were leaving we met the proprietor and handed in our key. So we walked through town and onto a dirt track heading past some grazing horses and the uphill to a little hamlet where everybody was still asleep. Today was a day of milestones and tiny celebrations.
At 33 km we ran into a bubbling brook as we walked along the dirt track. Then at 31 km we stopped at a cafe and had our breakfast. I had a cafe con leche and some of the cookies I had bought yesterday. We walked a bit further and reached the 30 km mark (we had walked 81 km). It was around this time that I stopped in this shady wooded alcove with stone seats. I had lost Carleana and decided to take a break until she caught up. She did and as we sat resting, the Irish family walked by.
We continued on our walk and eventually we made a stop at a cafe with lots of other pilgrims. It was a pretty neat place as the walls and chairs were all covered with messages left by other pilgrims. I left a message on a chair. We got back on the road and met up with a couple of Spanish ladies who were walking the camino for the first time. We walked for a few km with them. As we walked, I chatted with them and then we parted ways. It was during this section that we reached the 24.5 km mark at a place called Xen.
By the 24 km marker it was 2:30 and I couldn't go any further. We stopped in Rabina for some food and a much needed break. We only had another 4 km but we were tired and hungry and desperate for a health break. We stopped at the cafe/bar and had some lunch and a bit of a longer rest, I had a lettuce, cheese, tomato and tuna sandwich with some fries. Just as we were finishing, our Irish gentleman walks in and we take advantage of a few more minutes to rest. We left after I fished my cappuccino.
As we were walking, we kept hearing these really loud noises--they were either gunshots or so someone shooting something off. Fortunately, we were walking mostly in the shade and I used my wet face cloth to keep me cool. We walked and walked and walked until we saw the sign for Rua.
As we crossed the highway we were treated by a motion actuated sign welcoming us and wish us a safe Camino. We took our first wrong turn but fortunately a dog started barking and his owner came out; he got us going in the right direction. The last few hundred meters always seem to take forever and we arrived tired, dusty and exhausted.
At the 20 km mark, we stopped and celebrated because it meant we had completed 90 km of our camino. The last few hundred meters always seem to take forever and we arrived tired, dusty and exhausted. We got checked in and found that this hotel actually had air conditioning. We cranked the ac and got cleaned up. It was a nice reward to have a room that was blissfully air conditioned. I took a while to get cleaned up, pampered my feet with a massage and slathered them in cream. Then I spent the rest of the time cooling off, journaling and relaxing.
Then we went to the cafe next door for dinner. It was good. Carleana stayed downstairs to use the computer and I went upstairs to the room to work on my blog and get organized for the next day. It was cool enough to sleep well.
Today was 27 670 steps, 30.618 km, 475.16 minutes and my Italian pop playlist.
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