Day 29: Fonfría to Pintín (Bob)

Last day in the mountains. 

Last week, when we were booking ahead, we had to decide whether to take the northern or southern route. Our guidebook shows the northern route to be the main route, so we picked that one. It turns out every Camino app as well as the mileage posts treat the southern route as the main route. We were worried that we picked the wrong route—it wasn’t as well supported and it had more climbing and descending, though it was shorter. 

We had no reason to worry. It was one of the most serene and scenic routes of the Camino. 

One of the best things about the mountains stages is the sound. No traffic noise or white noise from the grids. Just singing birds and burbling streams and footsteps. 

As expected, we saw the hermit again today padding along slowly with his balance stick. He walks so slowly it looks like he’s barely moving, but he must walk all day long and into the night. Passing this mysterious man each day evokes a host of feelings: respect, confusion, pity, admiration, sadness. 

We left the slowpoke hermit in the dust and continued our march toward the St. James cathedral in Santiago. 

Adiós, mountains!