After reaching Santiago we stayed for three nights to rest our weary legs and to plan out the rest of our trip. We had always planned on going to the coast, about 80K more, after Santiago. During our planning we had caught wind that there was a smaller less known town about a days walk north of the popular ending point. We decided that since we have so much time, we will do both.
The first day of walking after having not being on the trail for three days was quite difficult. Just getting to the pack and pavement took a small toll on our bodies. It was also a little more emotionally difficult as most people don’t continue on past Santiago. The trail has been fairly empty and we have seen almost no familiar faces for the last two days.
However, today we met a youth minister from Lincoln Nebraska at a cafe. After we noticed she was wearing a Focus missionary shirt, a conversation quickly started. She had been walking with a young German woman and together four of us continued on to Muxia. It is always nice to run into fellow Catholics on the Camino. What seems like a common past time by now is to vent about the unreliable Mass times. It took us several hours to find an available Mass today.
We are only about 32K away from the ocean now. It is kind of hard to believe that just over 30 days ago we had begun walking in France. Hopefully, we will reach our final Camino destination in two days. After we finish, we will bus down to Fatima to pray, reflect, and rest before World Youth Day.
-Luke