Map and Elevation
Elevation Profile by Stage
Pensión Tasaga, Salceda. Stage Distance: 12.83 miles (20.64km); Total Distance: 181.63 miles (292.23km)
Feeling good about the choice to break up the distances for the last few days of the Camino. Some of the recommended itineraries has a 33km (20mile) distance this stage. What is traditionally a two-day walk from Melide, we are completing in three – making an extra short day when we trek into Santiago.
The weather was good. The crowds were spread out reasonably well. But there are more people on the route. A bus disgorged a load of tourists (Americans, methinks) to walk for a couple hours. More groups of 4-6 folks; on the Primitivo I grew accustomed to groups of 1-3.
Getting a late start may have helped with the crowds. I set an alarm but was certain the commotion of a dozen people getting ready to depart would awaken me. I was wrong. My alarm went off but I refused to believe it. Come 7.30, five of us in our dorm room (Anna and I, a German mother and daughter, and one other gent) woke to find the other seven bunks empty. The other pilgrims had already packed their gear, cleaned the spaces around their beds, and silently slipped away wraith-like in the pre-dawn. We had a bit of panic because we needed to get our gear packed and ready for Correos by 8am but otherwise things went well.
We took our time at breakfast then we walked together to the town of Boente where Anna would catch the bus ahead.
On the road
Spent the first part of the day on pace with Lulu from Bermuda. She is part of our Primitivo cohort – we knew of each other but had not said more than a couple words prior to today. Eventually, we both realized we were not in competition and moved at the same pace – very conducive to chat. This is her second Camino and she was doing different stages with different family members: she did an early section with her husband and then the first half of the Primitivo with her daughter. This section was just her. She feels safe on the Camino, describing it as one of the few places a single woman can travel alone.
Lulu is a positive energy. We spent about an hour discussing travel, food, …life. She was so engaged in our chat that she didn’t realize we had walked through the medium-sized city of Arzúa. On the hill out of town we paused and looked back. She asked if that was Arzúa. I confirmed that it was, and that we had, in fact, walked right beside the human-sized letters announcing the town.
Like Nicky, Lulu is one of the hubs of our Camino social network – they have met or know most of the people in our cohort. Swedish Patrick apparently nabbed the last bed at one of the albergues on the Green route – preventing her from trying that option. She knew there was at least one Minnesotan couple in our group.
While we were talking, we passed a woman who asked about the design on Lulu’s apparel. Did she get it from Thailand? Yes, of course. The other woman was from Thailand and recognized the pattern.
Hours later, Anna and I are sitting outside our pension with our afternoon beer. I waved as the woman from Thailand approached our little beer garden; telling her I recognized her from before. With a tone of certainty and finality, she announced she was done walking for the day, was going to have a beer, and then call a cab to her hotel.
Her name is Ann. She is 79 years old, a Camino veteran, and a force of nature. She is traveling with a younger friend (59 years old) who is probably already at her hotel. She returns to the Camino for the experience: she spends time outdoors, gets exercise, and meets loads of people.
Of course I bought her a beer.
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