We stopped at noon at our planned albergue only to find that it was completo -- full. We checked out another place close by but it wasn't very nice and didn't have any outdoor space. So we ended up at our third choice, a large private albergue. The facility was nice though a bit impersonal. The dorm rooms were large with 20 beds each but were stifling hot.
We spent most of the afternoon on the town plaza which was shaded and had a nice breeze was blowing through the trees. When you got out from under the shade, however, it was blazing.
Our traveling companions for the last week -- Canada Mark, Singing Phil, Quick Melissa and Chris and Bonnie stopped at the same town. Also, Jamie and Katie from Northern Ireland, who had been a day back, caught up. It was a grand reunion and the group spent a better part of the afternoon try to teach Phil to speak proper English, e.g., "teeth" rather than "teet" and "thirty" instead of "tirty". It was a challenging effort.
Sleeping last night was difficult because of the heat and the recent peregrino starters deciding to stay up late and party. I guess we've seen the last of the generally-understood 10:00 pm silencio.
Despite the late partying last night, everyone was up early. We left the albergue just after 6:00 am in the dark. Really, it was way too early to start since we planned to do just a short walk today -- 20K or so. It was so dark early that I had to use my iPhone flashlight a couple of times. At least Therese liked it, I think.
Everyone came together at the first coffee stop and we walked together watching the kilometer markers tick by -- 25K, 24K, 23, 22 . . . .
We were soon at the 20K marker. Near this point was a memorial to a friend of an Irish woman, Bridget, whom we met on the Camino. This friend had just completed her second Camino a couple of years ago and died in her sleep at a hotel in Santiago. The seven of us, Phil, Jamie, Katie, Melissa, Mark, Therese and me listened to Bridget sign an Irish song to us over the phone. It was a very touching moment.
A kilometer later, we reached O Pedrouza, our planned stopping point for the day. It was only 11:00 am. Our albergue was a couple hundred meters back on another road. We had a moment of group indecision. Some wanted to backtrack to the albergue; some wanted to go to the next town 5K away where there were hostels; others wanted to push on further perhaps all the way to Santiago which is tantalizingly close.
We ended up splitting up: Therese, Melissa, Jamie, Katie and I deciding to stay put in this town, avoid the afternoon heat and have an easy stroll into Santiago tomorrow. The rest went on. I wouldn't be surprised if they are already in Santiago. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to reunite.
Fortunately, the albergue opened early for us and the hospitalero gave us the first choice of beds. It actually is quite a nice facility and we had a grand lunch in the garden. Katie, the sandwich master, made a gigantic sub.
Tomorrow we make our last walk on the Camino to Santiago.
Today's good intentions are for all of the fellow peregrinos we have met along the way. Coming from many different countries and backgrounds as well as different reasons for walking the Camino, we all have become fast friends and traveling companions. Some have already arrived in Santiago, others will arrive tomorrow or the next day. We look forward to reunions and farewells over the next few days. It will be hard, but joyful, knowing that we've had an incredible journey together.
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