To Dos Hermanas (41 km, 150 m)

This is a longer day than I would have wanted to do, but cascading events made it the only choice if I wanted to walk the whole way.

Jumping ahead to Thursday— we have train tickets to take us from Sevilla, where this camino ends, to Ponferrada, where the Invierno begins. Our train leaves at 9:30, so the only way to have a good chunk of time in Sevilla was to have a short day tomorrow, which in turn required a long day today.

It was hard for me, even with essentially no elevation gain. The first part was lovely — rural and mostly off road. I had a long break in a charming plaza in Utrera and began the second half about noon. A good chunk was through the very shady and quiet Cañada Real, but the last 9 km were out in the sun, on a dirt road, alongside the train tracks. It was a case of mind over matter, step by step. I got to our little apartment by about 4:45, pretty wiped out. We are now going for pizza to a highly rated pizzeria owned by an Italian.

But having a 15 km day tomorrow into beautiful Sevilla will be one reward for this penitential day.
And the other reward is that I now have proof positive that there will be no more 40 km days for me. It’s good to have a reality check, and to get a good understanding of what makes sense for this old lady.

And here are two good tidbits— I heard from my friend in Santiago that my duffel bag finally arrived. And my power bank looks like it has revived itself!Read more