Day 43 - Taberna Valha to Lavacolla -23k

Almost there. I walked the 23kms today without my backpack. That was a huge help. I was still very slow going in the morning. I took a break at 2.5 kms and had an orange juice and bought a coke for the road. I was feeling ok, but very weak. Another few kilometres in I was feeling a bit sick to my stomach, but nothing arose with that. At about the 8km mark I stopped on a bench and opened up my coke and decided to pull out my headset. It was almost noon already and at that pace, I would arrive at 6 or 7. I don’t usually use my headset except on parts near the road, but the people that are walking now don’t really engage with you and only about 1 in 15 will actually say buen camino. I figured I need it and I am not missing out on much.

Well, that sure helped. It was either the tunes or the coke, but I was on the move at my normal pace. I stopped in A Rua to say hi to Peggy and Kristen, and then was on my way again. The last 5kms were long but I knew I had a bed and my bag was already there. The crowds actually thinned out now, so I took off my headset again.

It was worth the extra long trip to only have 10km left to go for tomorrow.

I am settled and showered and now that I am here, I am a feeling a little down. I am missing Jörg quite a bit. I think partly because I am sick and he would absolutely be taking care of me, but also just because he isn’t here. Our last evening before Santiago was wonderful. We ran into a lot of familiar faces and had dinner with them which made Jörg very happy. My camino family is all scattered but I will see them over the next few days in Santiago.

TTYL

Throwback to 2009 from Julie’s Journal

The hike today was nice again. Lots of trees and green. The one difference is that we finally had rain. The rain brought out the greens more. Joerg laughed at me in my poncho as I look like an alien … after looking at the pictures, I agree.

At dinner, we all got a table together, the Canadians and germans … it was so wonderful. It was a great fun evening for our last night.

Oh, I forgot to mention my time alone. In the afternoon, I told Joerg I wanted a couple hours to myself. I lied in bed and listened to my Ipod. I spent it listening to my inspirational music reflecting on my journey. I cried. I am so happy and blessed. After my time alone, Joerg came by with an English Cosmopolitian and then lied down with me for our last nap together on the camino. It was wonderful.Read more