I woke up just after 2am shivering, my god it’s cold and now people are snoring. I eventually move and get my hoody…still cold! Ok this sucks. I get up and pull my other sleeping bag from my backpack, I climb inside whilst still in my silk liner and with my hoody on… I wake just before 7am.
I start to pack all my things, half the room has left already. Bruno gets up and packs. As we leave we talk about the others who are now behind us and we hope they catch us up before arriving in Santiago de Compostela.
Todays plan is an easy 24km to Portomarín. Like yesterday, the walking is casual, the scenery reminds me of home. Undisturbed countryside, oak woodlands and small farms, the farmers moving cattle from here to there. The only traffic being the dozens of pilgrims we pass. (Bruno and I joke about the amount of pilgrims who start around this point to do the last 100km, and how the people who started in St Jean Pied du Port are probably thinking how much better they are than them all). Little do they know that there are a select few, who are now pure walking machines… Yes you can say I’m big headed but when I started there were people who didn’t think I’d make it, hell I wasn’t sure after my poor start with those rubbish boots. But here I am less than 100km from Santiago, and I’ve met some amazing people. I’m in awe of some of the people I’ve met along the way, young and old.
At a coffee stop we bump into Rachael, her mum and her auntie, so we all walk together into Portomarín. After checking into an albergue we go for a wander around the town. It’s small but beautifully placed above a wide river gorge.
The rest of the day is filled with siesta, talking, eating and the odd drink whilst playing cards.
I’m very nervous about finishing now….