“Great food and great company are two of life’s simplest yet greatest pleasures.” Unknown
Well, today was the most productive and unproductive day yet on the Camino. We moved a great distance on the map, but we didn’t walk.
WE TOOK A BOAT! Toot, toot.
Okay, we could have walked on and continued down the trail but we (Sarah, Gabino, Milena, and me) had made reservations to stay in Padron after the boat ride. I mean, we are at the good part, why rush it?
It was somewhat of a “zero day” but not really because we still progressed on the map.
One of the more intriguing aspects of taking the Variante Espiritual route is the boat. Of course, you could go inland and walk it but on the boat, the operators take you by the 12 crosses that represent the voyage of bringing Saint James’ body back to Santiago.
Check out this quick video from our ride. You will see the crosses and a couple of guys harvesting mussels. https://youtube.com/shorts/WLYSzFPUAE4?feature=share
I’m not hiking for religious purposes but Saint James is the man that this entire walk is in honor of. If you’d like to read more about him, his pilgrimage, and his awful death (beheading), click here.
Something weird was up with the boat assignments. Everyone but Louise, Milena, and I were on the boat that left at 8 am. At first, we felt a little sad about it…like we got left behind or something. Turns out, we ended up on a little fast boat with less people than the ferry. So we left 45 minutes later and arrived about 5 minutes earlier. Toot, toot!
So I said goodbye to Hammond at the hostel thinking I wouldn’t see him again because he was on the 8 am boat but son-of-a-gun he popped back up.
Here is the goodbye and the surprise!
Most everyone stopped at the cafe by the boat dock for coffee and breakfast. This place had the most amazing breakfast menu I’ve seen..so I ordered a couple of thing to try. I like variety. Along with a hot green tea, I tried the waffle with Nutella and banana. Delish! But it had a little too much chocolate sweetness for me that early in the morning…I shared it with the group. I also had a yogurt bowl with granola and fruit…one of my favorite things.
After breakfast, we walked the final two kilometers (20 minutes) of the day to the hostel. We’ve rested and had lunch, and rested some more. I’ll be glad to be back on the trail tomorrow. I enjoy the exercise and nature.
It’s been raining quite a bit today so we will see what tomorrow brings!
Our hostel is nothing to write home about, so I won’t.
Goodnight and much love & gratitude from Spain! 🇪🇸
Scenes from Day 37
