Time and Space The days, the routes and the accommodation all blend together; it’s getting harder and harder to tell them apart. It feels as though I’m having these experiences in another dimension – am I just dreaming all of this?
When I’m on holiday, it seems to me that the first few days pass more slowly than usual, but as the holiday goes on, this changes and time starts to pass more and more quickly.
And why is it that, in the end, I can still remember the beginning very clearly, but have a less clear memory of what happened later on – the last few days?
Dawn in the City
It’s Friday morning, 6.30 am; it’s just getting light outside, it’s foggy, and the traffic is getting heavier.
A misty morning
But the night was quieter than expected. The noise yesterday was mainly caused by the school and the traffic around it. As I walked back from the pizzeria, I was struck by the fact that there was still a crowd of teenagers at 7 pm outside the school, and coaches and parents were still busy picking up their children.
The Path
I was relieved to get out of the town quickly. The route was much the same as the last few days: villages with crowing roosters, barking dogs, stray cats, schools with Halloween decorations and, of course, cobblestones.
CobblestonesVillages
I passed a closed church, which is always a bit of a let-down because I like to get the stamps in my La Credencial. Then I took a break to have a coffee.
ChurchEucalyptus forest
I was relieved as the path wound its way through a eucalyptus forest for a while, but then, unfortunately, the roads began again.
So I set off along my own forest path and walked along narrow woodland tracks, taking a wider detour alongside the Camino.
My forest path
This allowed me to avoid the narrow roads flanked by walls on either side.
Road flanked by walls
After 17 km, I reached my new accommodation in Rates, a small village with the impressive monastery church of São Pedro de Rates.
São Pedro de Rates
I had a shower and had to do the washing again. It looks as though, unfortunately, I’ve got the whole place to myself again, which I’m starting to find a bit boring.
