Walking the Camino de Santiago - The French Way D26

欣然 密州

9/22/24, cloudy to clear, 11-21C

Arzua to O Pedrouzo, 19.2km, 365/-464m

It was a relatively short trip today, I dawdled at the albergue until 8:20 p.m. As I had to leave at 8:30 p.m., I was almost the last one out of the door. The albergue is for people on the pilgrim route and the check-in time is relatively early. You can check in as early as 12 noon, usually no later than 2 pm. But you have to leave early, usually at 9am.

It's always foggy here in the morning.

At 11 o'clock the sky cleared. We passed the Wall of Wisdom, which contains wise sayings such as "Travelling is fatal to prejudice, narrow-mindedness and bigotry" - Mark Twain and "A journey of a thousand miles begins at the foot" - Lao Tzu.

A family with a dog. I asked how far the dog could walk? The answer was that the dog could walk 10 kilometres and there was a cart for the dog when he got tired.

It's 20 kilometres to the end of this road.

Where I stayed today, hostel Azul Cielo (Blue Sky). The owner of the hostel took great care of me. There was no bunk bed, but he changed the room for me and kept asking me if I needed anything.

O Pedrouzo is less than 20km from Santiago. Tomorrow I'll walk into the city of Santiago. It's hard to see that the kilometres on the milestones are fading fast. After so many days of walking, there is not an unhappy day. Sometimes the soles of my feet hurt, but I don't feel like I can't walk. I'm very grateful that I've made it this far without getting sick and that I've had a safe journey. Along the way I've also thought about why I've come to walk this path, and I couldn't tell myself. Along the way I have experienced moments of gratitude, remembering God's grace and seeing the miracles that have happened in my life. Suddenly I feel able to be grateful for all the people and things I have encountered, even when they hurt.

I noticed a phenomenon on the road today. Since Sarria, the winds have really changed. Before Sarria, after using food and drink in a café or bar, people would clear the table and put the cups and plates on the counter for the owner's convenience. This was done out of everyone's appreciation for the shopkeepers. After walking a long way to find a shop that was open, passers-by would thank the shopkeeper from the bottom of their hearts for the convenience. After Sarria, the relationship seems to become one of daily service and pinning. There are too many people for the shopkeeper to keep busy, and cups and plates are left on the table. Today, after lunch, I picked up a huge tray of cups and saucers from a table, at least 5 coffee cups. I don't want to see the Pilgrim's Way turn into a tourist event.

Santa Eulalia Church. It's not an ancient building. Today there is a mass for pilgrims.

The priest was an Italian and after the mass he blessed people from Italy.

The French Way is one of the pilgrim routes in Spain and is shown in green in the picture. After Sarria there are two other routes that join this one. Together with those who take the shorter route, there are thousands of people on the road every day. There are many places to stay and many cafés. I've been walking for 4 days since Sarria, and although I've talked to people on the road for a while, I haven't had the chance to see them again, and I haven't made a single friend. Tomorrow I'm going to Santiago and I can't find anyone to drink with to celebrate. Then I'll celebrate alone. I went into a random restaurant and didn't expect to see the English priest I'd met three times. I went up to him and asked if I could have a drink with him. He took me to his table. That's how I met a Canadian who was staying in the same albergue as me, and also Father Paul, a Catholic priest from Ireland.

From left, pilgrims from Canada, England and Ireland. I then realised that Paul was the young man who had just assisted the old priest earlier. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture. The Anglican priest said he had just seen me in the church. That's for sure, because I was still in line for communion. We believe in the same God. A blessing from God, why shouldn't I receive it?

In the 80s, when I was studying in Europe, I took part in two tours organised by the Catholic Church for Chinese students. I remember that along the way we stayed in Catholic activity camps. I remember in one of the camps in Switzerland, a group of young people ran over to greet us, and for the first time I saw such happy smiles, one of them was a Filipino girl in a blue dress, she was as beautiful as an angel. I felt so familiar with the place, like I was in a dream paradise. I really wanted to stay there, but how could I? For many years I went to the Catholic church and attended mass. If someone had come to tell me about baptism, I would have accepted. But I was always just a spectator. Until I came into contact with Christian churches.