Day 6 - From Rubiaes to Tui

So today it's finally happening... after a slightly noisy night (😅🙉), we're starting our 6th stage around 08:00 am, which will take us to Spain. It's a bit scary how quickly time passes here...

Today's route mainly consists of cobblestone and sandy paths, we pass through some small villages and eventually reach the outskirts of Valenca. Somehow, none of us is doing well today and we're making slow progress - we're actually "the last ones" and don't see any other pilgrims anymore, even though there were so many on the road this morning. But that doesn't really matter, because it's not about speed here, it's about the experience itself, and that's slower, maybe even more intense!? At least the foot pain suggests that😜🙈😅

In Valenca, we then go straight to the bridge through the fort, where we will take the step into Spain🇪🇸 From here, we have to climb steeply uphill through the suburb to the old town, where the cathedral is waiting for us. Get a stamp quickly and then it's off to the accommodation, ideally only 40m from the cathedral and right on the Camino. Shower, do laundry, buy some supplies, and then dinner - pilgrim's menu for 9.95€ with salad, pizza or pasta, dessert, and a drink. Back at today's apartment, each of us gets 2 glasses of wine, and while we drink them, our feet are already getting patched up for tomorrow's day🙈✌🏻

Apart from that, there's not much to report from today's stage, except that it was probably my funniest stage ever (I haven't laughed so much in a long time) and there was a bit of rain for the first time☔️

Tomorrow, we will attempt a long stage of about 28km because we have to speed up due to our schedule. Maybe I was a bit too optimistic after all?😬 But I think we can handle it💪🏻 What's especially great is that Anne and Luca want to continue with us despite having a much more relaxed schedule, because they don't really want to go to Santiago without us.😍 It's so great for me because it means that my experience from last year is being repeated and the Camino is proving itself to be a very special path and a unique experience once again...

We all agree on this and also on the fact that while we can talk about our experiences on the Camino, we can never truly describe or convey them - you just have to experience it yourself...

Actually, I would love to write so much more (events of the day, highlights of the laughter parade, etc.) but I'm unfortunately too tired and we're already starting again at 07:00 am tomorrow🙈

I'll wrap it up for today with a few pictures and wish you all a calm, restful night😘