So many people!

Today, we found out why all of the Camino guidebooks, podcasts, and internet groups tell you to “stay off stage to avoid crowds.”

Even though we left plenty early, there was a line almost 10 people deep at the first cafe of the day about 7 kms into our walk (and the line kept growing once we got in it…) Fortunately, there was a practically empty cafe 500 meters (maybe a 5 minute walk) up the road.

While we had a few moments where we were alone for a stretch of trail, most of the time, we could see a dozen or more pilgrims before or after us. Before today, we rarely saw more than 4 people on the Camino at a time. Mostly, it still feels like a party; but it does make navigating more challenging sections of trail a bit trickier. It also means waiting in line to order food and use the bathroom, which is something I haven’t done in over a month.

About halfway through today’s walk, we took a very short (maybe 30 meter) detour to see a 2,400 year old Castro or fortified city. The main part of the Castro and its innermost wall have been excavated for about 20 years. There wasn’t much interpretive information at the site, but it’s open to the public and so we wandered around for a nice long time.

Even though you can practically see the Castro from the Camino - and there are two different signs pointing it out — we were the only people there. It was definitely my favorite part of the day.

Tonight, we’re staying “off stage” in the tiny village of Eirexe, and are enjoying being away from the crowds for a while. One of the reasons we decided to stay here was because there was a cool sounding 12th century church that’s about 4 km off the Camino and is only open in the afternoons. Unfortunately, when we took a cab out to visit this church, we found it was closed. Chris and I both feel grateful that we didn’t log almost 8 “bonus kilometers “ for a closed church.Read more