Rained on our last day of hiking but that just meant we didn’t have to waist our energy producing tears when we got to Santiago, because our eyes were wet enough.

A little bummed that the Cathedral is under construction, but it is still lovely nonetheless.

Made it to Santiago…what a strange and rainy day it has been.

Best. Town. Ever.

In Santiago de Compostela.

Muxía–19:47

It sure did rain today

It felt good to get back to walking but the 32 km from Tui to Redondela was a little tiring.  The new path installed to avoid the industrial areas before Porriño was very nice. It stayed next to a small river for much of the way and had fresh gravel over most of it.

The charm of the day was seeing the first grapes budding on the relatively new, leafy stems. Tiny (~0.5 cm x 3 cm) clusters of almost embryonic “grapes,” but you know what’s coming.  The impressive thing was how many houses had only enough grape plants to line the outer perimeter of the yard. Probably just enough for some home fermentation or to include in a communal vat. More and more signs of spring peaking through the all-day rain.

Today kicked my ass. I didn’t go particularly farther than usual, and the elevations weren’t particularly drastic, but still my body was simply not having it. My ankles are weak, my back and shoulders hurt at all times, my knees creak with every movement and the rain dripping down my face into my eyes was making me absolutely crazy. Somehow, despite all of the misery, I still was able to enjoy the walk. The views for the last, painful eight kilometers weren’t anything special, but something I can’t put my finger on maintained my forward momentum. Regardless of the constant uphill motion, the unnatural forests of strategically placed trees and the overgrown fields that didn’t seem to grow much of anything, I managed to smile. The albergue we’re in is mediocre at best with a hospitalera who seems more concerned with texting and talking on her smartphone than being hospitable. The cafe across the street doesn’t look much better. At the same time, never have I been so pleased to fall into my bunk and stretch out, to imagine the quantities of warm food that I will shovel into my mouth. Everything hurts, but I am content. Except that everything in this town smells heavily of cow dung, that is not enjoyable. Not at all. There may potentially be more cows than there are people here. Honestly, it seems that the entire region of Galicia, though beautiful, full of rich culture and populated with friendly and interesting people, is, for lack of a better or more accurate term, a shit hole. I really pray that it’s just the proper time of year for fertilization because inhaling all of this cow excrement is incredibly unpleasant. I don’t know how much more I can handle. Then again, if I can walk 500 miles breathing normally, I suppose I can do the last 80-something holding my breath or breathing exclusively from my mouth. Pray for my nostrils! And my feet!