Another very good day…sunny however hit 26C+ so a little warm, felt strong again walking after a bit of concern this morning, just a peaceful but challenging day.
The Wikiloc summary shows we walked a much shorter day at 19.9 kms however with 968 meters of elevation loss and 622 meters of elevation gain or a total G/L of 1,590 meters. Less than days 2,3 however over a much shorter distance. The following chart shows the walk today.
We walked slightly less than 5 hours at an average speed of 4.1 kms per hour.
Today reminded how the mind impacts a long walk. Essentially you know before you start that you plan to walk a certain distance and the profile of the walk in terms of ascent/descent.
Mentally one gears up somehow for that distance and when you have 4-5 kms left I really start thinking about the end…upon finishing the gas tank is empty. What always amazes me is the “gas tank empty” applies whether it’s a 30km, 25km or 20km walk.
I finish and I am done! On to a shower, wash clothes, beer/snack, I blog, Paulo blah blah’s with many people including his law office. He usually goes somewhere else to do this which works well as I need complete silence to blog 😂
Back to yesterday where we stayed at the Casa Aldea Araceli which so far rates as the nicest accommodation yet. The owner essentially runs a one person operation and is incredible.
Paulo asked if clothes washing was possible…”yes”…clothes washed and hung outside to dry…at bedtime they were still a little damp so they were subsequently dried inside. This morning they are waiting for us. Charge = 0€. Incredible!
Supper was outstanding 12€ per person! Not shown is a bottle of wine and bottle of water!
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| Super tasty soup with ham and sausage - huge portion |
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| Tasty beef chunks with fries - huge portion |
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| Ice cream bar |
This morning was a little concerning as I felt stiffness in my lower back. This happens from time to time and goes “back” to my 3 summers working as an orderly in a Winnipeg hospital. Let’s just chalk it up to improper lifting techniques 😞
I mentioned this to Paulo and he quickly dumped umpteen non prescription drugs on the bed. Ok I am always leery of taking meds I know nothing about…especially 🇧🇷 ones! However Dr Paulo recommended a muscle relaxant one…showed me the specs in English and I said ok and took a tablet along with a very warm shower.
Essentially did the trick although later this morning I wondered if I had taken some type of magic hallucinant when I saw the incredible views around me…clouds covering the valley below. The experience was surreal being above the clouds, then passing through them and then below. An experience I won’t soon forget!
Others around me also had the same experience sooo I concluded the pill 💊 I took was not the reason 🤣
Today was a good day for meeting new pilgrim walkers. Most interactions are very brief however we did walk with Jaroslav (not sure I have his name right) for probably 30 minutes or so. Very interesting guy who is in between jobs and has slept outside on occasion.
As you can tell the Camino is walked by people from all over the world!
Christine Colorado
Olga Poland
Jaroslav Czech Republic
Manuel & Maria Josée Spain
Pierre Belgium
Georg Germany
James, Alexandre, Ivan Estonia
Tomorrow on to Fonsegrada 25 kms away…we will enter the Galicia region in Spain…which is stunning however one normally expects rain…come on out Packa!
A few other pictures from the day including the Embalisme Granda a massive hydro dam.
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| Casa where we stayed |
Gorgeous scenery. Lots of water. Where's the rain?
ReplyDeletePlease Ken in Harry Potter “He who shall not be named is a central figure”…on the Camino it’s…I can’t name him/her…but you have already done it. So far incredible good fortune!
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