As Jonah is swallowed by a fish, I am swallowed by the clouds. What a calming effect a lack of clarity has.
The most advantageous views of Vigo, a bustling commercial harbor, is from a distance. Fog was suspended between the ocean and sky. The view down was tremendous.
Tap, tap, tap…the sound is coming from the church. Its door is cracked open so I slipped inside. Restoration is a never finished task.
Why have one or the other if you can have both? Start the day in the woods and end on the beach. Merging two routes is a bit dicey. One minute I’m spot-on according to the GPS and minutes later I’m way off base. A local offers gloriously simple redemption, “Just keep walking any street that goes down and you’ll end at the beach.” I pocketed my devise and let gravity lead the way.
Crossing over.
Pewter sky. Pewter ocean.
Not wanting to end the day with exhaustion and sore feet, I used a baggage service. It was easy enough to purchasing a $4 zipper cloth bag for the nonessential. I’ve risen to a new standard. Happy feet!
Few pilgrims use the variant I chose. Hence, it doesn’t warrant GPS tracking. How is it that the simplest of written directions can be so baffling? When all else fails, Google map to the rescue.
Baby on board. Stackable…backpack, baby seat. When mother and baby took the bed beside me, I admit I was less than hospitable. Think about it from the mother’s perspective as she could never set the baby down. No showers or trips to the toilet without infant. Feeding is simple…breast feed. But what about the diapers? I can’t imagine a box of pampers in her backpack. I hadn’t the constitution to ask.
Strategic planning lets me double-up. After today’s 14 mile walk, I grab a train followed by a taxi to Tui, Spain. It’s a crown jewel on the Portugués Camino Central Route. The second time I walked past the convent, the door was open. Inside I was greeted by a visitor. She explained the five resident cloistered nuns made and sold the most delicious cookies. Who could resist? To prevent interaction with the secular world, a revolving pass-through door was used. This enabled the nun (50-years in residence) to sell me cookies without setting eyes on me.
