Shit.
Buckle up everyone, there's a lot to write. I haven't written in 3 days and I regret it! I hope I do them justice and can remember everything I hoped I would! Now being well over half way there we at least have a routine. Wake up, walk forever, follow yellow arrows, be miserable, pray a lot, drink beer, eat dinner with the best people ever, sleep, repeat. It's not a bad life.
Day 9: Berducedo to Grandes
This day was ROUGH. We woke up and had an incredible toast with tomato and ham. The town was so sweet and we absolutely loved our albergue and the rural charm of the area. We had a Spanish friend call ahead and book our accommodations because we knew there wouldn't be enough beds for the amount of pilgrims in Grandes. This gave us the confidence to start late. It was also technically a short day of 13.5 miles.... the issue was it was all down hill.
This seems great, but really ir sucks. The impact is very hard on your feet, knees, and hips. It's also super hard on my quadriceps especially which do all of my bracing for the impact. The day was brutally downhill for 6 miles straight. We passed a young couple and the poor girl was hobbling so slowly with sore knees down the hill. We stopped for a while and chatted and tried to take her kind off the pain.
The downhill brought us down to a reservoir and dam. We spent a short amount of time exporing
the look outs and beautiful touches they added.
After exploring the dam we made our way up to the restaurant and had some lunch before finishing our uphill climb into Grandes. The walking was spiritually refreshing and a walk of thanksgiving after the very difficult previous day.
Upon entering Grandes we realized that one of our friends, Paul didn't have a room to stay. So he ended up sharing the room with our friends Jack and François who was in the room next to us and all sharing a bathroom. With one bathroom for 5 people we decided to first start with beer while taking turns with the bathroom. Our little window in Mom and I's room looked over our groups table at the bar below. It was so sweet being able to look over at our little family.
Grandes also had a beautiful church that was OPEN! They also offered a daily mass and a pilgrims blessing!
This night we had a beautiful supper all together! We had to fuel up for a long next day.
Day 10: Grandes to Fondsagrada
Another very tough day. I woke up really not feeling well I'm Grandes. My feet hurt, my tummy hurt, my whole body hurt. I fully expected at some point to call a taxi to take us to our next location to cut the day short . About 5 miles in a was feeling slightly better but knew we still at 12 more to go. I didn't feel like a I could mentally, spiritually, or physically complete the day. I would pray but it was so hard, I would think but I hated it and every step hurt. I was thinking to myself that maybe I should put on music when we ran into our friends Sue and Angus. They are a sweet Swiss couple, I can't remember if I've mentioned them before. I love them so much. We stopped at a church and of course it was locked. Each day we stop at probably 5 locked churches. Apparently they only recently started locking them because of vandalism. Anyway, we show up to this church that's locked and there's two old men scooping manure. Sue walks up the them and starts speaking to them although she claims she doesn't speak any Spanish. One of them smiles and stops his shoveling and comes over with a key. He unlocked the church for us and it was such a blessing to spend time all together in prayer in a real church. Below in pink is Sue, and then the man who gave us the key.
They turned into the most perfect distraction for me. They walked with us for a long time and then we stopped for a break and our friend Jack passed and so we all walked together. It was such a beautiful conversation and when we all split our ways again I was praising the Lord for such and unexpected relief. I knew I needed something different, but it was gifted to me in the best way possible.
After a few more miles we ran into another couple. Andy and Kathy are about my parents age and they are Lawyers in the UK. They are so pleasant and I can see them being our family friends at home even. Once again, we had great conversation and I was surprised with another way to get me through the day.
When we made it to the home stretch it was a complete uphill climb to get into town. This tested every fiber in my body... but of course there's nothing to do but move forward. We made it. We went to the first Albergue we saw and rested and showered. Our American friend Nikki had a birthday today so after showering and laundry we met her for a beer.
After our normal afternoon beer we transitioned to the restaurant of her choice for a group meal. These are starting to be the highlights of my day by far! We all ordered wonderful things off the menu and shared abundantly among eachother in ways that we would never do at home. I think my dessert made its way twice around the table... We all sang for and celebrated Nikki and she had all the drinks she could possibly have. Nikki's friend rich was so sweet and paid for everyone's meal.
We went to bed with full hearts and full bellies.
Day 11: Fondsagrada to O Cadavo
Today was supposed to be easy... 'twas not. It was soooo extremely warm and so much steep up and downhill climbing. I struggled a lot today. My feet hurt so bad and I was so ready to be in town.
We started today with a light breakfast and said goodbye to our friends Erik and Laura who took a bus a couple towns forward. Erik had a blister that was open and was not doing well. We're sad to not see them on the trail the next couple days. Our day started with spectacular views of the valley below us filled with clouds! I'll post a picture at the bottom!
We walked mostly alone today but did find our lawyer friends in the first chunk of the climb. We found a lot more of our friends at lunch and joined them and ate together. After lunch mom and I continued on alone. At this point it was getting so hot and the climb was steep and uphill. We were motivated by areas of shade on the path as well as the waterfalls every so often that we could cool off in.
After a big chunk of uphill we also stopped for a much needed popcicle. After the popcicle we had more uphill, direct sun, and too many miles. We were so in pain and ready for the town by the time we arrived. We even splurged on a private room. After laundry and addressing our daily injuries we went to find friends and beer. We had another wonderful meal with a large group of wonderful people and now in bed.
I'm sure I've missed some details but this will have to do. I also want to post another introduction of all our friends so I can remember their names and stories.
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