I’ve found that one of the really amazing things about the Camino is the mental quiet and calm…
[Spanish teenagers laughing, yelling and generally being rambunctious.]
Yeah, uh, as your mind calms and resets, as you’re surrounded by nature…
[Loud bagpipes playing a quite danceable tune, appreciative clapping by onlookers.}
You can begin to see…wait, what the fuck was I talking about?
What a difference a day makes.
The first 10 days of our Camino, we spent long stretches fundamentally alone. We would occasionally pass or be passed by a pilgrim or a small group of them, and we could often see groups up ahead or some ways behind us.
When we had interactions with our fellow travelers, they were most often brief – sometimes just a “bom Camino,” others short exchanges related to folks’ origins, the weather, or the trail that day.
When we would eventually arrive at our destination, things got more social at the cafes and tavernas for sure. But most of the time it was just us, walking quietly or chatting a bit about whatever.
Until yesterday.
When we left Redondela from our lodgings at Casa A Chivas, which had a farm-stay vibe that oozed rustic charm, we took a short trail and rejoined the Camino.
It was an entirely different experience.
Scores and scores, perhaps even hundreds, more peregrinos were on the trail leading from Redondela to Pontevedra.
This was a much more lively experience, if quite a bit less introspective. For Robin, I suspect, her inner introvert was not entirely pleased. The trail was even, at times, crowded and seats or rocks at shady rest areas were a little harder to come by.
After discussing the sudden change, we put it down to the fact that many people begin their Camino in Vigo, which is just distant enough from Santiago to qualify a pilgrim for the Compostela, the credential that shows they completed the pilgrimage for spiritual reasons.
So there’s that.
But all three of the different Portuguese Camino trails converge in Redondela before heading to Pontevedra.
And that’s what we ran into yesterday morning.
So here we are in Pontevedra, after another rest day, ready to head to Caldas de Reis tomorrow – along with hundreds more of our fellow pilgrims, including plenty that we’ve had a chance to meet and get to know at least a little bit.
So, someone please save me a shady seat for my cerveza when we get there…
