Day 34, Arzua to A Rua

The Kiwi crew - all from Tauranga (except me), from left, Andy, Toni, me, Anneke and Karel.

July 9
I'm poised on the brink of finishing this adventure. Tomorrow I walk into Santiago - I should be there before 1pm. There'll be lots of merriment and catching up with friends - both old and new.

 Today was a surprisingly scenic day. Despite the fact that we walk close to major roads, they're largely invisible. The trails have been apart from civilisation and quite lovely in places.

But first a rewind to last night. For a small town, Arzua was quite spread out. The guide book says there's lots of activity in the main square. It was hard to determine where the main square was, but if it was where I thought, there wasn't a lot going on there early on.

Eventually I spotted my friend Monique. She was having a coffee before heading to the church for her pilgrim stamp. Impulsively, I joined her (not that I needed a stamp, I didn't even have my pilgrim passport with me). We entered the pilgrim mass about five minutes after it had started. I hardly need state that I haven't ever been to a mass in my life, but I found it very soothing, as the priest welcomed people from all countries and invited them to pray in whatever language was theirs. Monique noted that her continent was included under the broad heading of US (she's Canadian), while I fell into the category of Australia. At the appointed time, we turned and shook hands with the people around us, which is apparently a tradition.

After that we had dinner at my hotel, which was apparently the best in town for food. Hungry for vegetables, I had green beans and tomatoes, which was nice, but overcooked - the Spanish don't have a way with vegetables. My second plate, of chicken and potatoes, was really good, but I couldn't finish it all. I passed on dessert and had a coffee instead and we fell way short of finishing the bottle of wine (my appetite is not what it is - am I getting old?).

Then we met my Aussie netball mates, Melinda, Natalie and Christine and following a lot of noisy conversation I found myself back in my hotel room catching up with stage three of the Tour de France.

After stage two, George Bennett from Nelson was incredibly in fifth place, thanks to a rather exquisite rendering of the team time trial, so I was keen to watch stage three.

My eyes couldn't stay open, so I had to quit, having a lovely sleep, although rather hot and with the building vibrating every time a truck went by.

Breakfast wasn't until 7.30am. I don't need an alarm, but have been in the habit of setting it to give myself 45 minutes for a leisurely start. For the first time since I started, I was asleep when it went off.

I'd decided to linger over breakfast, since it was a short day, taking advantage of the wifi to finish watching the last 10km of the tour.

It was soon after 8am when I wandered off. After about 8km I caught the Aussies, and they stopped for breakfast only a short time later. I joined them for a coffee - vowed eternal friendship (at least until after Santiago) and blundered on. Wished I had a photo, but will remedy that.

At about 14km, it was nearing 11.30am and I had lunch on my mind, when who should I see sitting at a bar but all of my Tauranga mates - Karel and Anneke, who I'd met at Villafranca and Toni and Andy, who I'd met a day or two later. I'd introduced all four on the approach to Sarria and now they were bosom buddies. I had one of the best tortilla - warm and still moist.

I stopped and had a coffee, then wandered on. It wasn't long before Toni and Andy caught me up and we agreed that it was a shame we hadn't got a photo of all five of us.

From left, Andy, Toni, me, Anneke and Karel. 

We decided to wait until Karel and Anneke caught us up, then accost a convenient pilgrim to take some photos at a scenic spot in a forest of gum trees. That worked well, because said pilgrims then had us take a photo of them. Much hilarity ensued as we held up the entire trail as we had a photo session.

Very soon after, we arrived at A Rua. Most people were going on a kilometre or two to Pedrouzo, so I said goodbye to my noisy mates, with a promise to meet tomorrow in Santiago.

As is the Spanish way, my hosts seemed to feel my arrival was a distraction from talking to their mates in the bar, but my room is nice enough, with a very short bath in which I soaked myself (and my washing) before having a beer outside, while I greeted new arrivals, two of whom I agreed to have dinner with tonight - they were Americans, who had reached the end of the northern route.

There are many ways to Santiago - the northern (along the coast), primitivo (through the mountains), Spanish, Portuguese, as well as the Frances route (which I've nearly completed), so now things are getting really busy as they all converge. Of course, added to that are the many people doing the final 100km of the Frances route, including the hundreds of school students, for whom this is a rite of passage.

So here I am. Only 20km to go. They say your Camino doesn't start until you get home and let it soak in. I can believe that.

For the time being, I'm in the same time zone as the Tour de France and I've managed to hook on to a live stream of stage four, so I'll just lie back and enjoy it.

Because this village is so small, there won't be any wandering about looking for the best place to have dinner - we'll be all in together right  here and that's the way I like it - a good chance to meet new friends.

I had the most incredible sleep (missed the tour). I fell into a deep sleep - it may have been three hours and felt so good. When I awoke it was nearly 8pm. I went downstairs and met Larry and his walking friend, whose name I haven't quite grasped, and had a great meal. This is a great restaurant.

Now it's nearly 10pm - not sure if I'll sleep,but I feel incredibly relaxed. Ready for the last 20km into Santiago.

Here's a link to a few pics from today : https://photos.app.goo.gl/1PQUrMGBkvz3D1XAA

Here's today's download from the watch: https://app.suunto.com/move/petergibbs/5d24836958e2119cfaf71577