Miles Hiked Overall: 101.6 (163.5 km) Miles to Santiago: 383.4 (617.0 km)
Steps Taken Today: 52,413 Blister Count: 3 new (K)
Spanish Word of the Day: completo (full)
What We Learned Today: Is the true Camino experience over?
Today we were out nearly 10 hours. The hiking was through mostly beautiful country side with specular views. We are also noticing mosquito now and we both have a couple bites. (At least we're hoping it's mosquito bites and not bed bugs!) We passed the 100 mile mark today on out journey. More than 20% of the way to our destination!
Perhaps the highlight of the day came in Viana, where we stumbled upon The Chill Cafe. They had different cafe food there (even peanut butter!), candles going, and as promised, a very chill atmosphere. It was a wonderful break in the middle of a tough day.
What we meant by "is the true Camino experience over?" is that we came into this experience wanting to relax and take things as they come. One example of that is accommodations for the night. We wanted the "true" peregrino experience of walking and then when tired, checking into an albergue and not needing a reservation. However, in this age of everyone having access to the internet, peregrinos are reserving accommodations ahead of time at pensions or hotels (you cannot reserve ahead of time at most albergues.) This makes it, at least what we've found to be true, impossible to come into town late in the afternoon and find a place to sleep for the night. Another problem is that the Camino continues to gain popularity and so more people are walking this year than ever before. Combine that with the Pope's declaration of this year as a Year of Mercy and the Camino is simply PACKED! That's all well and good but there simply aren't enough accommodations for everyone and that has been a huge frustration for us. Even big albergues are full...and then what to do? We cannot walk for hours each day and then have to spend more hours finding a bed. We've had to take to reserving ahead of time now for beds (and spending more money since most will not be at albergues) and it's been a huge frustration and time consumer.
"Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much...."
―Ralph Waldo Emerson
