Calle to Lavacolla

Trip Start May 14, 2008

Trip End May 30, 2008

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Where I stayed

Casa Grande de Andeade

(Lavacolla hotels)

Flag of Spain Lavacolla, Spain
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

So far we have seen a blind pilgrim, many pilgrims over the age of 60, pilgrims on horses, pilgrims on ATV's, pilgrims on bicycles, and pilgrims who are doing the Camino for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th time. It gets in your blood, despite the physical difficulties. We see anywhere from 10-50 pilgrims a day, wishing them a "Buen Camino!" as we pass them or they pass us, usually seeing familiar faces day after day, each of us sharing our stories and encouraging each other on. We have heard of some love stories, too - in fact, our own Judy met her husband the first time she walked the Camino and jokes that he said "I should have walked faster!". They recently received a government grant and purchased a stone farmhouse in Valladolid and are converting it into a B&B.

After an amazing breakfast of French toast, scrambled eggs on toast triangles, fresh pineapple slices and whole fresh strawberries, we hopped in the bus and drove back to Calle. We saw a truck and two municipal workers whose job was solely to wash the garbage cans! We teased Jim, saying that he should get a job in Spain, because the municipal workers all wear neon-green uniforms and he would fit right in....

I walked with Lynne, Tina and Martha in the morning, and with Jim, Lynne and Martha after lunch. Julia's knee was really hurting her after yesterday's incident with the guy on the bike, so she wasn't able to walk with us today. It broke our hearts leaving her behind, and she felt SO sad about not being able to join us. By taking yesterday afternoon off, Jim was able to come today and he did great. Tina stopped walking again after the lunch break, and Brad's Achilles tendon was giving him a bad time so he hobbled the last 2-3 km in a lot of pain.

The terrain was gently rolling hills with a couple of steep sections, lots more mud, and some paths parallel to the highway. We travelled along forestry roads, through pine groves and eucalyptus trees, fields of wheat, and saw lots more wildflowers. We walked 19 km altogether, leaving us with a mere 10 km for tomorrow! It's funny, at home we have to get so psyched up to do the 10 km Vancouver Sun Run, and here we're now saying "Only 10 km? That's nothing!" It's funny how one's perspective changes.

Lunch was at a bar in Pedrouzo, which also had three computers so everyone checked their e-mail. Back on the trail, we saw a few memorials for people who died while walking the Camino. We passed fountains created for pilgrims to refill their water bottles (although the water hasn't been verified as being safe to drink, so we used the water that Judy supplied for us). We passed an albergue in Pedrouzo where about 30 people were lined up, waiting for it to open so they could settle in for the night. We walked through villages named Rua, Calzada and Calle, all referring to the word "road", recognizing the road that has been leading pilgrims to Santiago for centuries through these tiny villages. We passed sheared sheep, and watched the camino stone markers count down the kilometers. We climbed up a long, gradual hill and walked parallel to the highway for a minute or two, seeing lots of crosses made of twigs tucked into a barbed wire fence. Lynne took a picture of Jim and I next to a statue of Santiago as we entered the outskirts of the city, and we did the same for her. We passed a creek that was orange due to all the iron in the soil. In San Paio, there was a steep hill so I decided to run up it. I think my adrenalin kicked in because the end is near! We continued to walk, this time along suburban streets, passing Nancy and Brad (who was really hurting by now), until we reached Lavacolla (pronounced Labacoya), our meeting spot for today. Lavacolla is where pilgrims would wash themselves in the shallow stream before entering Santiago, but it's now a dried up culvert.

"The little blue car"

It's always such a pleasure when we see Pepe in the distance, waving his arms and smiling happily at us. Jim gave him a hi-5 as we passed, and then we held hands and ran down the many steps in front of the church together, to the mini-bus. I almost felt giddy, knowing we only have one day left!

The others had a cerveza/wine and we all stretched. A little blue car came along and parked - it's actually smaller than a Smart car! The boys all checked it out. Once back at our casa, we showered, did some laundry by hand, a couple of people had another massage, and everyone else visited in the lounge, playing cards and sipping on vino tinto. Dinner was served at 8:30 - chicken noodle soup, crusty bread, salad, french fries, roast lamb, with nougat ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert. I was stuffed! It's so hard eating late and going to bed with a full stomach. Of course, that's much better than going to bed with an empty stomach....

We walked 19 km today; we've walked about 125 km in the last seven days. And still, no blisters!