| Daily Information |
Distance: 31.1 Kms
Elevation G/L meters: 437:(571)
Cumulative Information
Planned Distance: 287.9 Kms
Actual Distance: 299.1 Kms
Actual/Planned Distance: 103.9%
Strava link for Day 11
Weather wise another perfect sunny day…ok was really pretty hot 🥵 as we were finishing for the day. Another strong day for both of us at 31.1kms with some decent ascents along the way!
So far the planning has held…we are feeling fortunate on many fronts!
The 13 day walking planning was heavily front end loaded. Our average walking distances for the first 11 days is 27.2 kms.
Injury report: Nothing of note. Paulo has a decent size blister on his big toe which apparently is not an issue walking. He will have to decide tonight “pop it or not”…
Weather wise we had some drizzle a week ago however nothing since. This is Galicia where rain is the norm…however rain is on its way post walk! Talk about timing it!
Last evening post walk I was writing the blogpost for the day…without the usual oomph! I had been reflecting on a brief exchange with a fellow pilgrim walker that simply did not go as well as I would have liked. I had misunderstood something and as such felt “Guy that was not smooth!”.
Paulo had mentioned that there were Vesper prayers at the Sobrado Monastery at 7:00…he had fallen asleep in the room. I had just written the piece about “darn missed and opportunity to stay at the monastery.”
6:37 - light came on “Paulo let’s go to the Vesper prayers”. He was surprised but ok let’s go.
It was a really good decision. No sooner had we set foot in this beautiful monastery that we were ushered into the prayer chapel.
What followed was 45 minutes of alternate chants and complete silence by 6 monks. It was quite an exceptional experience…what I remember most is the long moments of complete silence. Rarely do we experience this in our daily lives…it really is special.
After the Vespers we had a chance to walk around this beautiful monastery…some pictures taken by Paulo are shown below. Special thanks to a blogpost reader Rachel who sent me a message the day we were walking to Sobrado de Montes encouraging me to not miss the Monastery!
After the Monastery visit…spirits lifted…we shared a pizza
Today was another varied and mixed terrain day in Galicia. Some very peaceful walking on country trails/roads mixed with some highway walking. I thought a dangerous animal dog encounter was in the offing as a large dog was on the road barking ahead of us. Tail was down and wagging so we just went on our way around him/her without any problem.
One sole new pilgrim meeting - Anna from Germany
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| Qu’on (Belgium), Paulo, Anna (Germany), Derrick (Netherlands), me |
A relatively early morning start at 8:00
A break along the way
As we were nearing our destination for the day we came upon an elderly pilgrim who appeared to be struggling walking up a hill. Paulo stopped to talk to her and mentioned to me that she was from France so I asked her a number of questions.
She indicated that she was simply having trouble climbing…had been ill…and her husband was up a ways. She thanked us for stopping and we mentioned that we would be talking to her husband. I spoke to him and clearly stated that his wife was having trouble. He mentioned this has been going on for 2 weeks. I suggested he start walking to meet her…honestly don’t know if that happened.
This is a situation where they probably should stop for the day and get transportation to their accommodation. Felt somewhat badly leaving without knowing outcome…not sure what husband’s thinking would lead to.
As we entered Arzua we merged with the last leg of the Camino Frances. I expected hordes of pilgrim walkers as was the case on the Camino Primitivo in 2022 as we entered Melide. So far this has not been the case…perhaps tomorrow will be different.
I also received a very uplifting and funny email from a good friend.
Tomorrow on to Lacacolla 20km and then a final 10km day to Santiago de Compostela where we intend to get in early…get our Compostela’s and then attend the noon Pilgrims mass (must line up around 11:15).
I certainly hope to meet up with a number of new friends on Friday Oct 17th whom we have met over the last 2 weeks…always a special moment.
Reflecting on the long Camino Norte walk has already started…to date things have gone very well! Paulo has suggested a similar length 2027 walk…ok would be 70…TBD will see what life’s circumstances allow. If for some reason it is not possible the 2025 Camino Norte walk will have been one heck of a positive way to bow out!
A few pictures taken today…
Some may wonder how Paulo and I share a room. The following two pictures show what I think is a very fair way to split the available space. The first picture is where I can spread out my stuff…the second is Paulo’s space ☺️
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