The 4th week, already in Galicia

Yesterday we finished our 4th week. So far we’ve completed 743 km, 27,2 km on daily average. The average daily cumulative elevation gain is 600 meters, and the all time c.e. gain is the impossible 16 thousand meters.

Here in the last state, Galicia, it is printed on the milestones how much left until Santiago – it says we have to walk 125 km more only! (And of course seventy something until Finisterra :) ) The weather is awesome, quite sweaty, but everything is good which is not rain! :)

In our the last day in Asturias we finally lost our way and fortunately took a few kilometer longer costal ‘variante’. As we turn our back to the sea when we turn to the inland and towards Santiago it was a beautiful farewell: there were rocky coast, small coves and the inevitable fields, grazing lands and cows. :)

Galicia again a new world. The whole is a large farmland, where you don’t know where the first few farms made village ends and the next one begins. These farms rarely thicken to a village or town, as for the pilgrim hostels are scarce too. Luckily we always managed to finish the daily stage under 29 km. The path most of the time is straight, there are no insane detours like in Asturias and the slopes are quite mild so far as well.

We are more and more though, you can feel that Santiago is only 10 days ahead, many people only has this much time for the Camino, here we are among the old ones with our 28 days, hehe. Here is for example a 16 people high school group, but they occupy 16 places in the ‘albergue’ if we cannot overtake them.

If new week, new characters are around. First the retired Canadian microbiologist, Jozef, with amazing stories who this year came to be a ‘hospitalero’ (host) in one the refugees. The Italian Gizella who walks at astonishing speed, as she has to catch her flight home in Sunday. Here are the Spanish sisters, one of them has been living in Sicily for 7 years now and they spend their holiday here together. Or the journalist couple from New York, Carolina and Nathan, who spend the last weeks of their world around trip here, walking 10 days to Santiago.

Mobil office, Jozef and Carolina

 
Proper sized mugs at last! In the middle Nathan

 
In the middle an Austrian girl, Martina 

 
And I’m here too! :)