Here's one of the pilgrim cafes that are getting more numerous as we approach Santiago de Compostela. The infrastructure makes this such a different camino than the one in Cataluña . . .http://goo.gl/maps/zRxBh
Entry
48, January 11th,
2012
Expenses,
Day 48
Breakfast:
2.40
Coffee:
1.20
Provisions:
5.00
Cookies
(yum!): 2.00
Anchovies:
2.00
Albergue
(Gonzar): 5.00
Total:
17.60
Trip
Total: 1077.44
About
30 kilometers today. It felt long, and the last few kilometers my
right shin hurt like the left did in Puenta la Reina. If it is the
same injury then I will have to let the Koreans go. The plan is
32km, 35km, 20km, but if I am injured I will not be able to keep
pace.
More
rolling farmland today – a mosaic of meadows and low stone walls.
Galicia is more “earthy” than the other parts of Spain so far –
everywhere you look it is encroaching on the trees, walls, and
buildings. It is as if there is a wild green forest underground
waiting to burst through, restrained only by the weight of the
concrete buildings.
Galicia
is wet. Descending into the valley where Portomarín is located, I
encountered mist that was if anything thicker than any before.
Walking through the wild forest and the mist it felt as if I was in
the jungle. Dagobah, maybe.
Here's
something I've been meaning to write. It's important. I've believed
for a long time there is a fundamental level of isolation between
people, as we can never know what is in anyone else's mind. Lately
I've realized that there is a countering force as well, balancing it
out. Even though we never truly know each other's minds, we are all
on the same path together. We all share in the same set of
experiences – the universal human condition. It's one of the four
rules: no pilgrim is alone. And that's not something to sneeze at.
Rule
#5 is this: Sometimes there are mountains. Discussion to follow.
