Caldelas to Campo de Geres (30 km)

I am in the swing of the Camino. And I’m feeling so lucky to be here.

The first 6 or 7 km were on asphalt but very untraveled roads. In one of the little hamlets, I met a woman who was walking to mass in the church that I had passed maybe 15 minutes earlier. She told me it takes her a half an hour to get there and I wasn’t certain if she was asking me to come to mass with her or telling me that she was going to meet someone there.

After the asphalt ended and the actual Geira (Roman road) began, I was surprised by three things. First there was a fair number of eucalyptus trees, in some places outnumbering the pines and oaks. And second, there was a lot less of the actual Roman Road visible than I was expecting. That’s not actually a complaint, however, because a Roman road that has been buckling and readjusting and subject to all sorts of weather for so many centuries is no longer a flat surface by any stretch. It’s usually very hard walking, but to see bits that are still in tact almost 2000 years after it was built is pretty special. Third, the grade was rarely steep, which was very welcome. Based on my calculations, there were several hundred meters of ascent on the Roman Road and it was barely perceptible.

In some of the spots there were several milestones, and I remember reading that this was common because frequently a new emperor would come to put his own stamp on a particular road.

The weather was perfect today — cool and sunny with an occasional breeze. I couldn’t ask for anything better.Læs mere