Arzua to O’Pedrouzo

Today we walked 12 miles from Azura to O’Pedrouzo. In the last three days we have seen an increase count of people showing their bandages, etc. Tendinitis has been for the most part, the most common complaints and the pharmacy had a brand-new set of large knee braces.

Today is our 8th day of El Camino de Santiago plus all the walking in between that we did when visiting Pamplona, Leon, and Lugo. So, for the most part we have overcome the initial shock to the body. And of course, prior preparation helped. I would suggest to anyone coming to El Camino to prepare the body for the day after day ponding beforehand.

Today we saw a family with a wagon with 3 children under 9 years old. At one point mom was breast feeding the younger one maybe 1 year old. You be the judge (see video). So, dad is pulling, and mom is pushing the wagon. I would say, the trail from Sarria to Santiago is easygoing in comparison to the Pyrenees trails, still it has some challenges if you are pushing a wagon. This section of El Camino de Santiago is the most popular of all the Caminos routes.

We also saw another circling couple where dad pulling the cart behind the bike carrying a child. We used to have one of those when Nick was a toddler. Funny, today he is my companion on this pilgrimage.

El Camino de Santiago has been in my bucket list for a while now, and since I am not getting any younger, I need to do it sooner than later. There are many reasons you would choose to do El Camino and there will be many things you learn about yourself and life in general in El Camino. You may not be able to solve all the problems of the world, but you learn to understand them and, in some cases, hold on to your convictions and defend them. There is only one YOU in this world, you are who you are from day one, and that cannot be changed.

As the day goes on, all I can thing is how awesome this journey with my son Nick has been. I am sad that is coming to an end. Tomorrow, we have 11 miles to go, so we are getting up really early to complete our last day of this pilgrimage and walk into the plaza of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela by around 11:30am, refresh and find ourselves a spot on the noon pilgrims' mass along with the many acquaintances we have made along the way. I am anticipating a few mixes of emotions...Baca lagi