emilyonearth

We left around 6:00am this morning, and while it was clear then, the fog soon arrived. It stuck around for a long time today, and we didn’t get out of it until after we stopped for breakfast at 10:00am. Walking through fog is quite dampening – my hair was wet by the time we stopped, and I had to walk without my glasses for a while as they were covered in condensation and I couldn’t see anything.

About an hour or so into today’s walk we were headed downhill and mum stepped on some smooth rock in the path, which she slipped and fell on. Luckily there seems to be no major damage, but she has a decent gash in her knee and some grazes on her leg and elbow. Also luckily, she had her handy-dandy antiseptic spray that she’s been using on her toes, so once we got to a proper town she stopped to clean it out and bandage it up.

After breakfast, we had a bit of an uphill that took us out of the fog and into the sunlight and the heat. It’s crazy how fast it got hot!! We walked for a short while with Nathalie, from France, who we met back in Trabadelo and have been bumping into since. We had also seen a couple of other people at breakfast – Mercedes and Mike from the US, and Marie Terese and her daughter Claire from France – and it’s quite nice to still be able to run into familiar faces even though the crowds have now arrived.

It’s interesting interacting with the “newcomers” who just started in Sarria. I may have mentioned previously that as you walk, you need to get stamps from the places you pass through as proof of having walked the distance you’re claiming to have walked. At breakfast today I was putting a stamp in my credencial and someone said to me “Woah, you have quite a few already!” and she was quite surprised when I said “Well, yes, I have been walking for about a month now.” Only about 6% of people who complete the Camino start in Saint Jean Pied de Port. Of course, a small number start farther away, but the large majority take a shorter route.

Only 3 days left, but they’re slightly longer days than we’ve been getting used to recently, and they are going to be hot!! 35°C is forecast for the next couple of days, which is unpleasant, but it is what it is, I guess!