Day Five

Covering 15 miles, with steep hills at both the, beginning and the end of the day, we knew the walk from Betanzos to Bruma would probably be our most challenging day. It was and it wasn’t. My body is feeling strong and I’m happy with the pace we set. Hills might be hard, but we each have our strategies. Lisa marches on while I count steps… 100 steps, or 50, or (bizarrely) 39, then pause to stretch and breathe.

We had more company on our walk today. As we walked out of Betanzos, other pilgrims poured out of hostels and coffee bars. We all exchanged the traditional greeting of Buen Camino as we walked into the soft dawn, already starting to climb

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Once again, we walked through forests and fields, stopping once for coffee, which is always served with a snack of the proprietors choice. And at each stop we get our sello, a unique stamp in our credencial (the Camino passport we carry to identify us as pilgrims).

We passed lovely gardens with colorful flowers, old fashioned farmers working in their fields, and tributes to St James and the pilgrims who are walking to his cathedral.

We are well past the halfway point of our journey, and the steep climbs are behind us. After months of worrying about today’s walk, tears flowed we arrived – imagine what I’m going to be like when we arrive in Santiago in a few days. I’ve been waiting for that moment for more than 10 years now!

And at the end of our day? A steaming bowl of Caldo Galego and a glass of local vino tinto!