Day 34: Salceda to Lavacolla (Wendy)

 The end is in sight. There were definitely moments during our walk when we wondered how we could make it to the end. In addition to shipping my bag ahead for a couple of weeks, I think the closest we came to making modifications was when we looked into getting bikes for the Meseta. 

And of course, we adjusted stage lengths occasionally. Like today. We’re 10 km outside of Santiago. We could have finished today, but we want to get there earlier in the day before the crowds, so will walk in tomorrow morning.

By my reckoning, today delivered nearly every classic moment we’ve come to expect from a Galicia stage:

• Morning walk through a foggy mist? Check.
• Picture-worthy sunrise? Check.
• Tree tunnels? Check.
• Sweeping pastoral vistas? Check.
• Delicious mid-morning coffee and snack served by a friendly barkeep in a cafe/bar with just the right mix of local families and peregrinos? Check.
• Wide, smooth paths through forests and picturesque villages? Check and check.

I especially loved the walks through forests of eucalyptus trees today. So gorgeously fragrant.

The only thing missing from our penultimate day of walking was the hour or so of walking in the dark. Because we had a short walk today, and the albergue where we wanted to stay didn’t open until 2:00, we kind of dragged our feet a bit and didn’t get out until 7:45 after drinking some coffee and eating a light snack. Because of the time change (yes, we already fell back in Europe), the sun was up by 8:00. Ah well. We’ve had plenty of magical dark walks. And in many ways, starting a bit later was appropriate, as we’re coming full circle to how we started our Camino, when we would regularly start around 7:30 or 8:00 or even later.

We’ve also deliberately stayed in an albergue with bunk beds tonight, again to give us a sense of closure to our adventure, since we started out staying in bunk beds most nights. Granted, this is a very nice albergue (20€ per bed rather than the standard 15). There are privacy curtains on the bunks and your own little charging port and light at the head of each bed. It is a big bunk room with 34 beds, though it feels like we have our own little room carved out in the bigger space. We are using our sleep sacks and towels again for the last time. It feels right.

But, I’ve buried the lede because the big news is that the real identity of the hermit has been discovered! Bob has embraced his conversational self on the Camino, and when we spotted the hermit ahead of us on the path this morning, Bob said, “I’m going to ask him if he’s going to Santiago today.” 

He did just that and discovered: The hermit’s actual name is Ulee (though that is a nickname). He is from a small city in Northeast Germany, which he declined to name as he was certain we would not have heard of it before. He starts walking early in the morning and walks until 8:00 or so at night. He walks very slowly because of a knee injury. He seems to be a Camino veteran, as he gave us tips on different places to stay if we wanted to stop before Santiago today, including a place 5 km out where you can first see the cathedral. 

He may still be a hermit living in a cave in Germany who comes out and walks the Camino once a year. But his twinkling eyes and willingness to chat make me think not. I have to admit, while the mystery of the slow-walking man who was always somehow ahead of us the next day was intriguing, it’s more satisfying to know a bit more about the real man and add him to the list of interesting people from around the world whom we’ve met on this adventure.