Day 10 - From Caldas de Reis to 20km before Santiago

What a day... It's simply indescribable what a day on the Camino can contain!

We started at around 6:00 am with the first sounds of the hairdryer - we tried everything to somehow get our clothes and shoes half-dried after yesterday's Aqua Running 😱 At 7:00 am we continued with a "small" breakfast in a nearby pastry shop and ta-da - no sooner do you take a delicious bite of your baguette, than it starts raining heavily outside again 😲😒 Well, we eat breakfast a little slower and wait for the rain to stop, which eventually happens - so off we go on our last stage of the day.

We make good progress in the first kilometers on paved roads and well-watered sandy tracks. Those who know us also know what comes next - exactly, the (first) coffee break 😜☕️ In the small café, we meet Nan again, who feels great today and doesn't feel her X blisters anymore - so she limps to the counter to order her coffee🙈😂👣

After the break, there are no changes on the path, so we just keep going - uphill, downhill, and on different surfaces towards the destination of the day. At some point, it starts drizzling again and we put on (once again) our rain jackets/ponchos. The rain is getting stronger and we are getting completely soaked again, so we seek shelter in the next bar - definitely the best decision of the day👍🏻👍🏻 Because what happens now, we certainly do not want to be outside - a heavy downpour is followed by a hailstorm☔️❄️😲😲 The weather was truly incredible on this day - from sunshine, to rain, to hail, it had everything...

So we continue to wait it out and treat ourselves to a glass of wine - it is known to help against bad weather and sore feet, as we have known since yesterday 😜🙈😅 Here we also meet Ricardo from Italy again, who unfortunately was outside during the heavy rain and is now completely soaked...💦💦

The sky clears up and we continue on our way - until the next rain shower or alternatively, the next bar😇😁 As planned, after a few kilometers and with the sun shining brightly, we stop for lunch.

The route doesn't offer much, except for a few pictures with the beautiful morning sun, so there's not much I can report about it... After about 22km, we reach Padron, and here too everything seems deserted and rather bleak. So we only go to the cathedral to light a candle, collect our stamp, and "already" go on to the last 4km of the day. They are really tough...😩

I realize that I am pretty exhausted and therefore increase the pace - I just want to arrive and put my feet up. Although the pain in my feet doesn't go away when I stop walking - it just changes a bit and still remains 🥴👣😣

So we walk along the highway, through small villages in zigzags, or past fields - it just never ends, and the pain keeps increasing. Eventually, I see the sign for our accommodation (only 200m left) and just plop down in the shade. I'm exhausted and waiting for Sandra, Anne, and Luca - I can't do the last 200m without the others...

In normal life, 200m is nothing, but here it can feel soooo long🤭

After 26.5km, we reach our accommodation and Isabel and Luis are incredibly kind. The four of us stumble in, and we are given water and sweets😋 After our spirits are somewhat revived, we go to our rooms - the three of us girls share one room today, with a whirlpool bathtub included 😍 Simply a dream!!!!

Dinner is served in the house, and Isabel & Luis serve us an incredibly good and large dinner - spare ribs, salad, and ice cream, along with a grappa/liqueur for digestion 😋🤤 We finish our wine in the sun in front of the house and go to bed early - we want to start the last 20km to Santiago at 6:00 am.

We are all excited and curious about how it will be. We can't believe that our journey will already be over tomorrow 😥 But for now, we are still together, and our feet will surely carry us through the last kilometers👍🏻💪🏻👣

Therefore, an early "Goodnight" to all of you 😘 Ultreia!

Your (still) Peregrinas

Sandra & Dani