Palas del Rei to Arzua
In my teenage years, I spent a lot of time consoling crying friends in nightclub toilets, and now 16 years later, the tables had turned.
After a restless night, I knew the one person I needed to talk to was Susanna. She was swift becoming my spirit guide on Camino and I'm still not completely convinced she's not actually Jesus or some kind of wise angel sent to make us all feel good about ourselves.
I had woken with a heavy heart and craved the insight I knew she'd be able to offer me, so I accosted her as we brushed our teeth and she gently ushered me into an empty dorm so we could talk.
I know I'll carry her advice to me that morning around for ever. To paraphrase: "Give yourself a break girl, your feelings are completely valid, chill."
Feeling much more peaceful. I set off for my first 30k+ day with Laura and Shane - today it would just be the three of us, and it was perfect.
The trail was beautiful, it took us through pretty villages, into the woods, past a donkey and all under clear blue skies.
The difficult feelings of yesterday and this morning gave way to a real sense of peace and calm. It felt like we were teenagers on a school trip, walking, talking, laughing - no cares, nowhere to be except enjoying each other's company.
The walk was long, but it gave me the time I needed to really reconnect with my friends, to enjoy them, to make new memories.
About 5k from our destination, I got a call from Martine - the hostel we were staying at was overrun with school kids and we'd have to walk a further 3k to find a bed for the night. This is not a call you want to take!
When we arrived at our initial destination, the crew were there and dealing with the bad news as only you can on Camino - with beer :-)
We joined them (although it was lemonade and face-full of Milka for me), us all sitting outside in glorious sunshine, laughing and putting that extra 3k to the backs of our minds.
Special mention here for Sueon who got lost that day and walked an extra 7k. Her reaction when she realised she'd gotten hopelessly lost: to lie down in a field and take a nap. I bow down to this woman, I really do.
After an hour with the gang, I knew if I didn't move, I wouldn't be able to, so Laura, Shane and me, together with Susanna were the first to set off on the last stint of our journey.
It turned out not to be so bad, and soon we were in the next town. The guys spotted a bus stop on our way to the hostel, realised they could make it to Santiago from there, and so we had to say our goodbyes in the street there and then.
After such a beautiful but exhausting day, it was surreal to be waving them off so soon. Susanna and I left them at the bus stop and just like that, they were gone.
I'll never forget that Laura and Shane took time out of their busy lives to join me on my adventure and I'll always cherish the time we spent on the trail together. Truly, guys, thank you.
Later that evening, we made the mistake of following two stoned French girls to a pizza restaurant that didn't exist, adding at least 2k onto our walking total for the day. Not cool ladies!
I'll also remember this day as the time I found out that for Italians, a 'slip' is another name for men's pants, not a sexy piece of ladies underwear. Thanks for that Davide ;-)
