Day 22. Calzadilla de la Cueza

Knowing that today‘a destination was only 18.8 kms allowed for a later start, so I got on the trail by 8:45. Not any hills on this flat and somewhat featureless landscape. There were no facilities - and no water - until we reached our destination, Calzadilla de la Cueza, a very small village that likely would not exist if were not for the Camino. I had a good breakfast before departing.
Since I left so late, I didn’t encounter many people I met before. I did connect with Jeff, from Florida, who was an expert on how to retire in Europe. He says the only requirement for getting a residency visa in Portugal is showing that you have $13 000 in a Portuguese bank account, or proof that you have equity that adds up to that much. If you do that, you cannot work there but you do get access to their healthcare.You can top off healthcare for $280/month. These are US dollars. He doesn’t appear to be more than 50 years old living off the passive income of his real estate holdings in Florida. He doesn’t have any kids, but does have a girlfriend who booted him out of her house. That’s why he’s on the Camino.
I then moved on to two people from Minnesota: Susan, a retired librarian from the University of Minnesota, and Susan, a retired nurse. We spent almost two hours discussing our favourite books and writers. Susan was passionate about Alice Munro, a Canadian writer, also one of my favourite, so we discussed many of her short stories, many set in rural Ontario.
I reached the hotel by 1:00 pm, when I reconnected with people I had met before, and Jeff joined us too. By mid-afternoon, after showering and doing our wash - and comparing our washed underwear hanging from our windows - we congregated on the hotel’s terrace. We were three Canadians , three Americans, two Australians, and two Brits, later joined by a German lady and another Brit. Much of the discussion revolved Jeff’s retirement possibilities and two female farmers, a cattle farmer from Australia and a sheep farmer from England. This is a great way to meet people from different countries, in interesting professions done in a family atmosphere.Read more