A Balsa → O Mosterio
Distance: 12.87 miles / 20.7km
Elevation: +1437ft, -2528ft
Distance to Santiago: 110km
I woke up to my alarm at 6:45am today, but I was shocked to see that no one else was awake yet. I think that this had been the latest I had slept in, and the latest that I’ve woken up! Still absolutely everyone else was still in bed, with seemingly no intentions of getting up. I think it was because it was such a chilly morning and the beds were so comfy, and it was just nice to keep laying. I eventually got up once I heard another person rustling, so I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth.
Once I was done getting ready for the day, it seemed like a lot of other people were up or in the stages of getting up. Once I had everything packed, I hung out with Liz, Santiago, and Mark in the dining room for a bit. Liz gave me a banana for breakfast which was very kind of her. I got going and was the first one of the group to leave in the morning. Since we had a late start to the day, I left the albergue and immediately ran into some other people I know, who had stayed in the town before last night.
Today started with a lot of up and down, and later I would realize that this would continue all day. I saw lots of people this morning, more so than I usually do. I could tell we were getting into the final stretches of the Camino with how many unfamiliar faces and how many more people there are now. I took the first stretch pretty slow, as I wanted everyone to pass me so I could walk alone without people right on my tail. Since I was going slower, Liz and Santiago eventually caught up to me around the 3 mile mark. Mark had told us that there was a donativo breakfast spot about 5km in, so we were keeping our eyes peeled.
We saw a number of people stopped ahead at one point and thought that it was the spot, but turns out it was just a vending machine, and we were joking that Mark had duped us and the breakfast place was just a vending machine! Pretty soon though, we came across the restaurant and it was a beautiful spot. They had a number of options for breakfast, and it made me feel very fortunate to be able to come across a place like this that runs solely on donations. I had a boiled egg, a nectarine, some crackers, and a piece of bread/cake type thing. It was very yummy.
Liz, Santiago, and I all sat and chatted for a while, and then Liz and I used the restroom before we left. It was a really interesting bathroom, it was outside and the place only had 3 walls, so it looked out toward their back garden and they had one section for “Pipi” and another for “Poopoo.” I only used the pipi one and thankfully, no one came up and checked on what I was doing. Someone did walk over and see Liz pee though. I left the place after using the restroom, and ran into Mark on the way out.
Mark has been taking the past few days pretty slowly, and has just been enjoying the walk - I didn’t really realize why he had started walking so slow, until I realized that he probably didn’t want it to end, because after the Camino ends, he has no place to live, no job, no clear future. It makes me sad that he worked for such a selfless cause like USAID, and that was the industry that got gutted.
But alas, I kept walking and I also took the walk pretty slow. All the up and down hills were starting to do a number of my knees and ankles, and this was a trend that would continue throughout the day. I didn’t really take too many more stops for the rest of the day. At one point, Santiago passed me and I came across him later sitting on a stone, and it looked really comfortable so I joined him there. We both took a rest and bonded over our shared pains and then kept walking. I was walking pretty slowly this whole way and had gotten passed by a ton of people, but I didn’t really mind since I had a place booked.
The next stop I made was in Sarria. Sarria is the final big starting point before Santiago, because they just want to do the last 100km to get the compostela certificate. I stopped in Sarria and got a durum kebab from a kebab shop to-go, and then set off back toward the Camino. I found a cool bridge on the exit to Sarria where I sat and ate it. It wasn’t the best kebab I've ever had, but I was so hungry at that moment, anything would’ve tasted good. I kept walking after I finished, and the kebab gave me some energy to keep going!
Sarria is the typical ending spot for the day, but I don’t love big cities and I wanted to get out of the main stages, so I planned on going to a town about 5km past. There was quite a big hill to get there and it nearly took me out, but eventually I made it. I checked it and got my bed (bottom bunk!), then showered and did laundry.
After getting all that out of the way, I went into their garden to soak my feet for a second, and then laid in a hammock for a bit. I heard Liz and Santiago checking in, so I went to say hi to them, and then went back out. I did some planning on where I was going to stay the next day, and texted a few places but they were all booked so I decided to shoot for the municipal in Gonzar, which doesn’t take bookings. Tomorrow I'll just wake up early and try to get there in time to get a bed. I’m normally not a super fast walker, but I’m usually one of the first people at the albergue, so I’m hoping that trend continues tomorrow.
The Camino just really changes quite drastically after Sarria with how many new people there are. Many of them just want the compostela certificate, which I really don’t think is that important, but I guess to some people it is. Regardless, even today before getting to Sarria, I noticed how much more crowded it was getting. It made me feel a little sense of superiority over everyone else, having started about 600km ago in St Jean, but also made me sad that my journey was almost over.
Liz, Santiago, and I all separately figured out our plans for tomorrow, and I think I may be the only one going ahead to Gonzar tomorrow. Liz said she would get to Portomarín and then decide, Santiago was staying in Portomarín, and Mark hadn’t arrived yet. Santiago had a bottle of wine and some chips he bought and didn’t want to carry anymore, so he and Liz and I all drank some wine together. We chatted about how close we were to the end of the trail, and it’s sad to think this is all nearly over.
I texted Mark to check in on how he was since he hadn’t arrived yet, and he said he’d hurt his leg, so was taking it extra slow and wouldn’t arrive until around 7pm. I let the hospitaleros know to save him some food, and then at around 6:30pm, we all went in for dinner. The albergue is run by some Italian people, so the first course was bruschetta - Well actually, the first course was wine. I’m going to miss how much wine I’ve been having on the Camino and how plentiful it is.
The second course was pesto pasta, and the third course was meatballs with salad. Dessert was yogurt with honey and biscoff sprinkled on top. It was a very yummy dinner! After dinner, I saw some horses grazing in the back near where the laundry was hung up, so Liz and Santiago and I hung out with them for a bit, and Mark joined us soon afterwards.
As we were talking about where we were going tomorrow, I realized that we are all going different places, which felt pretty sad. It felt like a band breaking up. The past few days, we’ve all stayed at the same place and it’s been really nice to arrange things with them and to see a familiar group at the end of the day.
I went and made Santiago's bed for him, as he’s sleeping in the dorm above me and I was feeling like a nice Samaritan! Mark was there making his bed as well, and I chatted with him for a bit. As a thanks for making his bed, Santiago gave me a cigarette, and then he and I smoked together while Liz was there chatting with us. It turns out that Liz used to smoke quite a lot as well, and then quit a few years ago.
It was nice to spend this last evening with them. We went back in and saw Mark icing and elevating his foot, so we chatted with him for a bit, and then all got ready for bed. After I finish brushing my teeth, I went back out to Mark on the couch and told him I’d be in Santiago from October 1-3, and told him to send me a message when he got in. He asked if I was giving up on him making it, and I didn’t want to say yes, but also he looked like his ankle was really not doing well, and I feel like today may be the last time I see him. Especially since my next few days are going to be pretty long, I wanted to say a proper goodbye to him rather than just a see you later, in case I didn’t see him again.
It was a little sad, but I went to bed after and did some journaling. It was a long and difficult day today, and I didn’t really enjoy it in the moment. But now looking back, how can I not enjoy the walk and the beauty of everything? It makes me excited, but also anxious for the next few days and to see how things get the closer we get to Santiago.
