Day 9 - Vigo to Redondela, Spain

As I mentioned in my update yesterday, today’s stage would be shorter, about half of what I walked a few days ago.

Spain is quiet on Sunday mornings. The only people I saw the first hour in Vigo were other Pilgrims looking for their way back to the Way, people out to exercise (joggers and bikers), dog walkers, and those who still hadn't made it home from last night's revelries wearing either magma costumes or salsa dresses.

It took me six blocks to find a nearly open cafe. They politely told me that they would make me a coffee to go or I'd have to wait until they were open at 9am in another 15 minutes. While it was a stretch for me to leave that late I knew I'd either be waiting for the cafe to open in Vigo or standing at the door of the albergue waiting for them to open when my feet were tired. I patiently sat outside the cafe and enjoyed people watching.

Other pilgrims joined me at the tables and we passed the time with introductions while waiting for the caffeine. Everyone was celebrating that even though we had overcast skies, we wouldn't have yesterday's rain.

Antonio joined me and we ordered croissants and cafe con leches (I may have had two) before donning our backpacks and heading out of town.

My secret to leaving a city on the Camino is to do it early when it is sleeping. That wasn't happening today. But what could have been a boring stretch through some industrial and suburban sections were made up with companionship. Life looks differently when you are walking beside someone.

There was a good climb out of the city and a matching decline at the end of the stage, but the majority of today's walk was through beautiful forests full of towering eucalyptus trees with occasional glimpses back down to the water where we had recently been.

Antonio led us in some mindfulness practices in and amongst the trees, which felt more holy than in some of the religious structures I've toured this past week or so. We discussed the healing that comes from being in nature, from valuing life, and the restoration that comes from walking. It's almost like we were created for this.

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I've started getting comfortable with the wave of pilgrims I've marched up the coast with. In Redondela we join with the Central Camino so the crowd will have new faces, new stories, new energies, and new attitudes. We will have the option of becoming tribal, dividing into different camps, or becoming inclusive and expanding our Camino family.

***

I've been to Redondela before and I've stayed in this Albergue before. We were here two summers ago when Jamie, Kona, Bonnie and I walked the Central. It brings back memories of our time here like it was yesterday. We had a memorable dinner at a nice restaurant up the hill and it rained on us coming home. We were all running and I was scared someone would fall and get hurt. But the gals’ laughter won out over my fears and now we celebrate that challenge as a treasured moment.

It is Sunday afternoon and almost everything is closed - all but one little grocery store, most cafes, and some restaurants. I found all that I needed and feel blessed to be not lacking for anything, even though I'm living out of a backpack. I was even able to go online with my phone and watch my church service from home.

I've walked tomorrow's stage before. It is the only time on this trip that I will walk a path I've previously been on. I'm interested to see if I remember the Way like I remember the places we stayed.
It's under 100 km to Santiago. We don't talk about blisters anymore. We talk about where we go from here.

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