Ribadiso → O Amenal
Distance: 15.3 miles / 24.6km
Elevation: +1362ft, -1814ft
Distance to Santiago: 16.3km
I woke up at 6am today, but ended up falling back asleep until around 6:30am. I got up for the day and packed up all my things. It’s so crazy to think that this was my last night at an albergue before I finish the Camino! I can’t even say that it’s my last night at an albergue for the near future, because Tovin and I are still going to Finisterre next week and will be staying in more albergues, but it’s really hitting me how close I am to Santiago.
I left this morning and it was a somewhat quiet walk for the first 2 miles or so. I stopped at a café in the woods at the 2.5-3 mile mark, getting a café con leche and a tostada (toast with Serrano ham, tomato, and olive oil). It was really yummy, although while I was waiting for my food to come, these 2 guys showed up who I’ve seen before in the past few days and don’t like. They’re always singing, dancing, and overall being very loud and obnoxious which makes it hard to enjoy the ambiance. It’s quite obvious that they only started the Camino for the last 100km.
I finished my breakfast and then got walking again. I was taking today pretty slow and trying my best to just enjoy it and soak it all in, seeing how it’s one of my last days walking. There was a noticeably larger crowd after finishing breakfast, and it’s been baffling to me how many new people there have been. Everyone has said that after Sarria, it gets a lot busier because a lot of the different Camino routes all meet up together in the last hundred kilometers, and also there’s people who just do the last hundred kilometers, so the crowds get a lot bigger. Below I've included a map with a handful of the major routes on it!
But the past few days, I’ve managed to stay off stage and avoided the big groups. Last night was the first night that I stayed at a recommended town since León, so I definitely noticed the bigger crowd today. I walked slower, letting people pass me and ended up in pockets where I didn’t have too many people around for most of the time. It was nice to have something resembling solitude during my last real walking day.
I walked to about the 10 mile mark before I needed a bathroom break, so I stopped at a café and it turned out to be a restaurant! I sat down and it was super busy, so I thought that must be a good sign. I ended up getting a sangria and an order of ham croquettes. After giving the server my order, the couple sitting next to me told me that I had made a good call, as they had also ordered the sangria and the croquettes, and thought they were really good. I chatted with them for a bit, and found out that they live in Northern Virginia near Washington D.C.! We chatted about how I had been considering going to grad school at George Mason this next fall and potential plans with school.
I also found out that they started the Camino a day before me in St. Jean, and I had never bumped into them until now. I’ve been noticing that a lot these past few days; I’ve been meeting people that started in the same place, around the same time as me, and I don’t know how I’ve never bumped into them until now. They were also going to Santiago and we decided that if we ran into each other again, we would all take a photo together! After finishing my snack, I went to the bathroom and then kept walking. I managed to start in a pocket where there weren’t many people, so I had some peace and quiet for the last 5 miles or so of the day.
I’ve been having some knee and ankle pain that has gotten noticeably worse for the last three or 4 miles of each day. Although I’m sad that the Camino is coming to an end, I know my body will appreciate an end in sight to all the stress on my joints. Tovin booked me a massage in Santiago for the day after I finish as well, and I'm sure that will feel really nice after a month of walking.
I took a different route to get to the hostel tonight than most other people did - it turns out the route I took was the actually the main route though, and the route everyone else took was for those staying in the recommended town. The place I was staying was one town past that. The last mile and a half were really quiet, and it was just me walking by myself, which was absolutely lovely.
I got to the albergue and checked in at 2pm, and the owner showed me to my room. Tovin had booked me a private room for my last night of walking, which I was needing very badly. I got to my room and just sat for about 30 minutes to unwind from the day, and then took a shower, washing my clothes in the shower as well. The place I’m staying at tonight only has four beds, and it’s all private rooms, so they don’t have a clothes line. I let my clothes just dry in my room for an hour or two, but then I checked on them and realize that they were not going to dry by tomorrow if I left them like this.
I’ve definitely left places some mornings wearing "Camino dry" clothes, but this would not have even been Camino dry. It was sunny out and there was a patio seating area, so I brought all of my laundry down and sat it down on some chairs in the sun to dry. I sat outside in the shade, enjoyed the nice weather, and had some little pastries that the hostel was giving out for free!
I was really trying to enjoy the day as much as I could, knowing that this is the last regular night of the Camino. It’s been such a lovely journey, I’ve met so many wonderful people, and I really can’t wait to get to Santiago and see everyone! It’s also sad thinking about how Santiago is probably going to be the last time I will see most of these people. I feel lucky to have made so many great connections, and to have gotten to know people that I never would’ve met otherwise. The conversations I’ve had, the insight that people have given, the perspectives that I’ve never considered before; all of them have made this Camino a wonderful journey.
I sat outside and talked to Tovin on the phone for almost two hours. Once we hung up, it was around 6:30pm, so I went to the only restaurant in town to get dinner. It was a 2 minute walk from where I’m staying. Once I got there, they said they don’t do dinner until 7pm, so I got a red wine, sat, and waited until 7pm. There were a number of other pilgrims there already waiting as well.
At 7pm, I went in and got seated for dinner. I got a red wine, bread, and a steak dish. I was a bit peeved, because this was the only place I’ve been in all of Spain that has charged for bread. It was €1, so I ordered it anyway, but when she brought it out, she only brought me one piece of bread. This was insane, especially when you’re already making people pay for bread, but I didn’t say anything about it; I texted Tovin though, and asked him to leave a bad Google review on the place for me.
I had ordered a steak dish, and it took a bit to come out, but it was a massive portion and was very delicious. I had really been craving steak recently, so this really hit the spot. The quality of the steak and the quantity of it made up for the singular piece of bread, and I felt a bit better. After dinner, I took a bit of a walk because it was just so much food, and I needed to take a digestion walk. I walked a bit of the route along the Camino, since it runs right by the restaurant. There was a big uphill section that I discovered, that now I have to look forward to tomorrow. I walked for about 15 minutes, and then headed back to my room for the night.
Once I got there, I got ready for bed, and then made some tea. It’s a nice perk that the place I’m staying tonight provides free tea, coffee, and little pastries for snacks. I packed up most of my things for tomorrow, then drank my tea and tried to go to bed early. It’s hard to believe that my last day of walking the Camino is tomorrow!
