slow walking lasts longer

today i’m walking slowly, at least it feels that way. i’m savouring every step.

not sure what it is, but people smile at me friendly today. don’t get me wrong, they do generally, but today it is particularly nice. not sure what happened? maybe they like the grey locks under my cap or the dance in my steps. no music does not mean i can’t dance. i mean, i can’t dance, but i’m doing it anyway. kind off. so, on second thought, i can dance, i’m doing it.

i meet a lot of people that walk in the opposite direction. they all have the coast ahead, what a treat!

at a panaderia i speak to a couple from south carolina. monica & john. there is an immediate connection - life stories with similar elements. monica, here’s the first german lesson for you: ‘es ist nie zu spät’. or, should you prefer tyrolean german: ‘es isch nia z’spat’. john is a throughhiker who was on the appalachian trail in 2024 for an entire six months. you find his reports here: https://thetrek.co/ search for ‘darkside’. we hug the pilgrims’ hug and move on.

then i bump into nicky & nigel, kim’s friends from sydney. we speak for a minute, then we move on. by the way, nicky, i was wondering what pipi longstocking’s name is in spanish: pipi calzaslargas.

it is interesting how there is something like a rush hour on the daily etapes. today i get all the pilgrims that started in negreira about halfway into my etape. before then and after then the numbers are far lower.

i continue walking slowly. tomorrow will be the last hiking day on this camino. i’ll truly arrive in santiago, including a visit to the pilgrims office and later the mass in the cathedral. savouring every step.