Day 25, September 25, Melide to O Pedrouzo– late post

          Today started out a good walk. It was mostly rolling hills and bends which was still tiring but I didn't mind them so much anymore. What I did mind was that there were so many pilgrims, it was difficult to have some quiet time on this leg. I ran into Marley's group again a few times today in some of the places I took breaks at. At this point, some of the pilgrims we've walked part of the way with are quite familiar with the fact that I am doing the walk with my twin. So, every time I would stop somewhere to re-fill my water bottle, or to get a snack, or simply to catch my breath, pilgrims would ask, "Where's your sister?" Yep, Anj was also getting the same questions during her walk. It was getting tiring having to explain that: a. She walks faster than me so she goes on ahead and we just decide the night before where to meet for lunch breaks or where to rest for the next night and; b. We quite enjoy walking by ourselves and making our camino "personal," which has the added bonus of us having a lot more stories to share when we do see each other in the late afternoons. That often ends up being a long conversation because people are naturally curious and the more comfortable they are with you, the more follow-up questions they have. And after you've walked days or even weeks together, people definitely get comfortable seeing you around.
     
          The previous day, while getting a cold soda from a cafe, another pilgrim, an older lady, asked me where my sister was, and hoping to make a quick exit and to avoid having to give that explanation that would inevitably start a long conversation, I just flippantly answered that I lost her somewhere but I'm sure I'll find her again soon. This cracked her up and she shared the story with the other pilgrims she was walking with, who all seemed amused by the joke. So from then, some pilgrims would walk up to me sometimes and with smiles on their faces ask me if I found my sister yet. Yes, that followed me all the way to Santiago.  😆

 One of the most interesting pilgrims I saw today or perhaps ever during my entire camino is a young mother. She caught my attention as I was catching my breath because she was pushing a pram up the hill while her sleeping son of about 3 or 4 was peacefully napping. That quite amazed me. It was hard enough for me to carry my own weight up those hills most times, but to have to push up a stroller with a sleeping baby in it was just beyond me.  I called her a superwoman. She said she just didn't want to wait until her son was older to do her camino so she's doing it now. She said she does get help from fellow pilgrims sometimes and she makes sure she doesn't push herself too hard. They stop when they have to and she lets her son play a bit so he can use up his energy and so he doesn't get cranky. She also has their things sent ahead to the next albergue so she doesn't carry unnecessary weight. Her son incidentally also has his own pilgrim's passport and I imagine him someday looking at it and wondering about those places and those stamps. I was humbled by this woman and I hope that little boy grows up someday having the same fire his mother has.

         
 We had a pretty good plan going into our walk today. We wanted to walk the 24 kilometers to Salceda, which is between popular stops. We assumed that because of its location, we would find plenty of beds.  Well, that didn’t happen. We had to walk another 3 km. to the next town, which incidentally was also full. I was tired and hot and I think it was pretty obvious from the expression on my face that I was not in the best of moods. In fact, one of the pilgrims I met earlier today saw me and called out to ask where my smile was. I just gave her a small smile and waved at her even though I wanted to say I lost it about 3 kilometers ago. 

     Anyway, the nearest town was 8 kilometers away, but 27 kilometers was my absolute limit if I was to walk again the following day. I refused to walk another step but we had nowhere to sleep. We ended up taking a taxi for those last 8 kilometers of the day, but not before making sure we had a bed and a pillow to lay our heads on. So that's why ahead of schedule, we found ourselves just 21 km. from Santiago.