Santiago’s gravitational pull is much lighter towards the west: the city disappears as soon as the historical center ends.
The forest is as magnificent as pretty much anywhere in Galicia, the countryside is pretty and rather well-to-do, it seems.
This day is a bit (a lot?) wet, it shifts between a light spray and light drizzle. It’s easy to walk, but one can’t be lazy about taking rain coat on and off, it is all about the balance between it being with or without it.
“Ultreia” is “further”, or “furtherer”, even. In case you were wondering. “Et susseia” is the traditional answer, meaning “and higher” (well, i guess?)
Shopped for food in a supermarket in Negreira. It feels good to be at a completely normal food store, and not a horrendously overpriced one because it is the only one in the village. We paid less for (very decent) lunch, dinner and breakfast than for two microwave meals last time at Labacolla. Ended up buying more than we needed for tonight, too.
The municipal albergue at Negreira is full at around 14 – it only has 18 beds. Some people had to go on.
A typical pilgrim’s day is divided between the first major part of the stage, which is easy, there’s spring in people’s step, the backpack is light and you take pictures of every corncrib and each cool graffiti, and the second part which is always the last 8-10km, regardless whether the stage is 18 or 38km. This is when you keep looking at your tracker, watch, map and everything that might tell you you’re soon there. Checking, stamp, bed linen, shower, charge devices, laundry, lunch – if you have it and haven’t yet eaten. Going out to see the place? Somehow I often feel grateful when the place consists of a single lumber mill which I have already seen on the approach and I can just sit around and watch my laundry dry. Or write this. Or tell someone they look German and watch what happens. (Yes, Christian was German and a nice dude, ready to talk). Then more food, beer, wine and more talk. Before 10pm you should, ideally speaking, “know where your towel is” – be ready to go to bed and scramble with minimum noise tomorrow, so, have most things in the backpack, light on “red” setting, and in general know what is where. Tomorrow it’s all from the beginning, so, you know, good night, my dear.
