Losing a Little at a Time...
- hollandauctions
- Oct 24, 2023
- 3 min read
This trip better end soon, or I won't have anything left... With 5 days left of hiking, I do a quick accounting of my belongings, and here is what I find... I have lost: one quick dry towel and one pair of underwear- left at an albergue early on... my Tilley hat- short of someone stealing it, I think I may have undone my backpack during the middle of the day to grab some ibuprofen, and inadvertently left it on the side of the road.. my blowup pillow is gone- who knows what happened there... I have handwashed my remaining clothes so many times my underwear and nylon stocking sockettes are falling apart... and my 5 1/2 week old $300 orthotic shoes both have holes in them, and look like they've been to hell and back... ughh!
I'm able to snap a couple of photos in Vilalbe in between raindrops...
Cute enough little town...
Parochial Church of Saint Maria...
Back to the greenery...
The day promises to be misty and rainy, like all the other days recently...
On the pathways once more...
Ooohh... it's going to be one of those days, where I find another 1000 path photos...
It's not the ocean, but it's pretty enough...
Another local who gets the camino culture ..
Spanish trees are just so hot!
The paths don't disappoint. .
Seriously, who built these bridges?
My understated autumn harvest photo, with cornstalks and pumpkins...
Always a pleasure to walk through ..
The cactus in this old window caught my attention...
These ancient stone buildings grab me every time...
The wind from the last few days is really starting to pull the leaves down from the trees...
A fork in the road...
Plenty of pastures as well...
Creepy, or cool?
Inhabited, or abandoned?
Beautiful, or stunning?
Let's go uphill for a couple of photos...
That's a climb!
This was neat... The area is known for its quarries, and farmers use slate tiles dug into the ground instead of barbed or electric wire to section off their properties here...
Beautiful old stone bridge hiding in the trees...
From the top of said bridge...
And now, for a completely different cow pic...
Too bad my phone focused more on the fence!
That roof is not long for this world..
First geese I've seen...
That's a good looking horse...
Hey... the sun is finally shining!
What a nice view to drive home to every day...
An interesting mushroom..
I like the painting around the window...
I was going to kneel down here but my knees hurt too much! Hard to read, but this is the first marker indicating less than 100 kms to Santiago!
An old church in the most beautiful of settings...
Another angle...
The path next to the church...
Heading away from the church and to my final destination... I will extend my day beyond the standard stage by about 8 or 9 kms, as tomorrow is meant to be a 31km day, and I wanted to even both days out to about 25 kms each...
Did I mention that everything in Spain is uphill?
I am almost there...
The neighbours house...
I will stay just behind this house, in an equally perfect setting... It will be the most expensive stay of the trip at 50 euros, but immediately when you walk in, you can feel the serenity in the home, jazz music playing quietly throughout the house... The layout is one for the cover of Home Decor, and the hospitaliers are warm and friendly ..
The only slight downfall is that dinner is vegetarian... We start with some kind of a potato salad with olives that was quite good, but could have used a bit more salt, and then moved on to this exquisite pot of chickpeas, peppers, onions and mushrooms cooked in a tomato broth...
Really fantastic... While there were at least 4 people staying at the hostel, only 2 of us called ahead, so dinner was shared with a very pleasant Italian, including a bottle and pitcher of red wine, and a delicious creme anglaise for dessert... Fantastico!
Distance walked today- 29 kms
TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED SO FAR- 825 KMS
Whew, I got a little behind with your blog and spent the afternoon catching up!
As Linda says, you should do something with the shoes, bronze them or at least take a frame worthy photo. At one point I thought your selfie with the Camino sign that had a shoe on top, was you deciding to abandon your shoes and challenge yourself further by walking barefoot for the remainder.
Hard to believe your pics are all taken on just a phone. They’re really gorgeous and with the vids that capture the sounds of birds, cow bells, streams and ocean waves, we can all feel like we’ve almost been there too. Then you even describe the smells!
National Geographic called, Lawrence, and they want to hire you.
Each photograph of a pathway lures. Each promises a tale of adventure. And that fork ... goodness, I briefly panicked thinking that you chose the wrong trail and would have to retrace your steps. Anyway ... love, love, love them all.
Are you willing to take a picture of your shoes? Please don't toss them out at the end of your journey. That they've lasted this long is nothing short of a miracle. I've read most pilgrims replace their footwear partway through their walk. Perhaps you can enshrine them in a glass case (like Dorothy's famed ruby heels). You know ... for posterity. Plus, if they're sealed, we won't have…
Lovely photos, thinking of you as your trip comes nearer to the end and hope the feet hold out!
Uh, these were some of the best pics you've taken, to date! They look really natural and simple and the paths just look amazing!
I know you've turned inland for the final leg of your trip to San Sebastien and i think you only have about 60 kms to go!
Isn't it funny -100 kms seems like small potatoes when you're doing close to 900 kms!
Today, I walked at least 2 kms, but i was hunched over, working on equipment, and so I'm a bit achey and I'm CHECKED OUT! Nevermind this 30 km insanity!
Pssst: Uber.
How's your love life?
You've been away so long you must be getting kind of lonely.
You mention that the towns are " cute".
The streams are " pretty".
The Spanish trees are "hot".
The cactus " caught your attention ".
The buildings just " grab you".
The paths are " beautiful and stunning".
Even the horse is " good looking".
If one were to read between the lines one would surmise that your libido is rising higher than the trails elevation changes.