Sunday, June 3, 2007

heading inland on the home stretch

Today we had our last view of the ocean and have begun the trail south toward Santiago. Only 9 more days of walking left! You´ll have to guess if that is exultation over the accomplishment or excitement that the end is in sight :-)

The walking since Luarca has been wonderful... long gently sloping stretches along coastal bluffs with distant views of the ocean and refreshing, cool breezes. The days have been fewer kilometers and allowed for longer lunches lying in fields. The rest of the way, with one exception, the daily distance will be 12-15 miles which is quite manageable. The wear and tear is beginning to be felt with new symptoms daily but, in general, I wake up feeling good.

We spent last night in Tapia de Casariego, a town that had the feeling of Manhattan Beach in the 60´s but with 3 of the most spectacular beaches you can imagine. There were a couple of surf shops and some awesome dudes but the waves were far from gnarley. We slept at the pilgrim´s hostel, one of the nicer ones. It was situated on a cliff just above the ocean, featuring a laundry line with a million dollar view of a cove with numerous rock islands. The place was nearly full but quite a few people will be going home today but planning to return to finish the trip another time.

Again, I can´t load photos here but will try later from another place. Thanks for your notes & encouragement!

This Camino is much lonelier than the French route. We are lucky to meet any other walkers each day and this whole time have only met 3 other native English speakers. Laurie´s phenomenal Spanish and my mediocre French help us get by.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Went to a Bat Mitzvah last night that was more trying than any day on the Camino, I'll wager. How many times can Powerpoint malfunction, and why is everyone using it anyway ?!? Can't wait for your PP presentation , once you are back in the bosom of Bush. The surfer town sounded intriguing... any good t-shirts? Truckin'.....Doodaadoodahdooo