Tuesday May 31 Santiago.
Rain gear on the outside of the backpack, just in case. Overcast, no rain. Most of the way was spent zigzagging, over and around the maze of roads into Santiago. I had been surprised by how small Padron is. Now I was surprised that there were still hamlets and woods. On occasion I saw a backpack ahead; all moving at a slower pace. If I stopped at a cafe a few would catch up to me.
The first shadow in days
I sat down on a wall across the street from this woman who was snipping 1/8 inch branches on a hedge. Her garden was so perfectly maintained that this was the only possible activity. As I sat there a woman from the hamlet walked by. She smiled, greeted me warmly, then said, "You are lucky that the owner's of the house have not seen you. They are extremely haughty and would try to shoo you off." I smiled back, took another bite of the banana. She nodded in approval and walked on to critique the garden across the road.
My next encounter was with Robert from Prague. He had just walked from Pamplona to go but still had more walking to do in order to learn how to break the cycle of working long hours. He was going on to Lisbon and wanted to know about the poorly marked route along the coast.
The farmers along the way make scarecrows that make one giggle.
Ìt was 12:00 and I had at most an hour and a half s walk into Santiago. I didn’t want to get there for a noontime meal so I stopped at a restaurant in a supermercado and ordered a pizza. It was fun to see all the other clients, so unpilgrim like, tethered to their cell phones.
When I arrived in Santiago the cafes were overflowing. The cathedral square with its elegant Posadas a welcome and familiar site.
Finding my hotel was the usual, amusing, circular adventure. Two nights in a room. Ĺuxury. A chance to do some laundry.
Ñice pintxos and Rioja wine for dinner; sitting on a bar stool, chatting with a woman who had just walked from Malaga and a man who had walked from Grenada.
Now it's time to repack. Baçkpack full of Swarthmore reunion clothes. Freshly laundered (do you call sink washing that?) clothes in the baggage compartment duffle.
Wednesday morning. Done. Off for a 3 hour lunch in the SUN.
Another reinvention of self.
