Day 8- Camino Lite

EDITOR’S NOTE- Day 6’s entry had some tech problems. I amassed the IT team (my son Jack) and we (he) finally figured it out (thanks Jack). A video has been added to Day 6. It’s worth going back and listening to, and watching, it at least I think so.

Camino Lite- everything about today was so easy I Could Cakewalk Into Town. The weather was beautiful. The paths were dry. The route was easy to follow. It was short (I considered it a rest day with a little walking). I stopped twice for coffee and tostadas. I teamed up with Mike from Seattle for the last half of the walk and that made the time go by quickly. And to top it off, I went clothes shopping in the town of Castro Urdales. My leather belt was flaking apart from the rain and weight of the pack. I needed to buy a belt. The woman at the hotel gave me the name of the men’s store (oh no). I almost never go shopping. I either get gifts from Carla and others, or I still get hand me downs from my brother or I’ve owned the clothes for decades. I have some clothes dating back to high school. The Camino presents and the Camino provides. So I struck out on my quest for a belt. I found the small shop. It was high end metro- I was scared. All the mannequins were ready for the disco not the Camino. I asked the wildly dressed man behind the desk if he had cinturons (belts). He showed me 6. I asked if he had any skinnier ones. He was puzzled. I gave in to the wide style and picked the one I thought could withstand the elements and the grinding from the backpack. Having survived the shopping challenge I had great food and walked around this beautiful seaside town. The lightness of the day made it easy for me to take pleasure in all I did today (except the belt shopping). Some of those influences are laid out below in the pictures. Tomorrow is a long day and it’s supposed to rain for a good portion of the walk- goodness may be a bit tougher to find.

Stairway to heaven

Walk on

All I could think about on this stretch was it was good to be alive. Today beauty was easy to find.

Old road she keeps calling me, travel on down, travel on down and see.

A totally unnecessary stop with a fellow Pilgrim, Mike, from Seattle. He’s great company and he keeps the pace up. Our paths have crossed just twice in the last 8 days. I expect I have not seen the last of him.

A lighted tunnel for walkers and cyclists. Sure saved me some serious climbing. This country does a great job creating paths, bridges and tunnels just for walkers and riders, even in more remote areas.

Yep, those guys are fishing