Camino de Santiago

I make a point to turn around every couple kilometers. Not only to see where I have been, but to see things from a different perspective. That is when I catch the sun coming through the clouds over the mountains or I see a line of pilgrims behind me and I know I'll be saying Buen Camino many times as each one passes me. I don't mind being passed. My Camino animal is the snail and even snails get to their destinations.

There have been many farm cats on the Camino. None of them are friendly as they all have a job to do...keep the mice population down. In the cities, the cats hang out by the churches where they are fed daily by the elderly dog-walkers. I watched in awe while the bored dogs waited patiently as their owners threw old bread and meat on the ground. No less than 10 cats showed up from nowhere ending their feast with a drink from the fountain, slinking away as fast as they had appeared. So imagine my surprise when I met a Friendly Cat! This cat ran up to me, weaved between my legs, looked at me, got some pets and proceeded to walk several kilometers with me. I was beginning to wonder what I would tell Cindy, when Friendly Cat decided to turn around with a flick of her tail and trotted back to the village. I wondered if she walks with other pilgrims. Maybe she is the Pilgrim Cat.

Great news! I walked into and out of a large city without getting "distracted" (lost). Penferrada was big. I saw a high school group of 109 teens walking the Camino 9that I would see frequently over the next 4 days. It was their 2nd week of school and 1st field trip. They walked 35K a day and were quieter each day I saw them. They loved speaking in English and were very considerate for teens. I chatted with the brave teachers who offered to give me several of the students.

This city had an amazing castle. I wished I had more time to explore it. An elderly local showed me a path through the park so I avoided all the traffic leaving the city. It was very tranquil with many people out walking. The schools were out for recess enjoying the nice weather. I passed the hermatage of St. Blase and had different funky signs to follow before climbing into more vineyards.もっと詳しく