Portugués Camino Day 16: Sweaty Steps & Sacred Stones

Day 16 RIBADUMIA – VILANOVA DE AROUSA, 12 miles, 27,735 Steps. 

“The seats are complete,” she told us as I looked around the mostly empty café, inside and air-conditioned. She took us back outside, where some Italian Pilgrims graciously allowed us to sit with them. “Stinky,” he said, as he pointed inside.  I gather the same had happened to them. Only for Pilgrims are the seats “complete”. That settles it, I’m doing all our laundry tonight, and it won’t be hand washing either, it’s time to find a lavandería (laundromat).

It has been unseasonably hot in Spain, or so they tell us. Highs in the upper 90s, and the later we start, the hotter the walk is. Fortunately, since Suzanne took over planning, we’ve had shorter days and nicer accommodations. Today there is a nice bay beach a short walk from our hostel.

The first part of the day was a beautiful river walk lined with vineyards. Some are ancient, with large trunk vines supported by granite posts, the newer ones concrete posts, with smaller main trunks. Then, the walk turned to roads, as much of the Portuguese Camino always seems to, and the heat of the day began.

Concrete posts of a new vineyard

Then we run into road construction and lose our way.  A kind older Spanish lady holds out her hand: STOP.  I check the app and realize she is right, we’ve been walking the wrong way for some time. She walks with us, chattering in Spanish until we meet her friends, and they laugh as she tells them about her lost pilgrims. People have been so kind when we have taken a wrong turn to stop and help us. The kindness of strangers. 

Construction detour helps us lose our way

Leaving My Stone

Santiago de Compostela is but a few days away, and I still have my stone. The tradition is that a pilgrim brings a stone to leave behind, along with whatever that stone represents.  On the French Way, most are left at Cruz de Ferro, the Cross of Iron, but the Portugues Way won’t provide such a resting place. We improvise. I start to pass a stone cross with pebbles at its base. That will do.  Suzanne walks on while I sit, name my stone once more, and prepare to leave it. Suzanne left hers while we were still in Portugal. I wasn’t ready to part with mine then, but I am now.  

Can you find my stone? No? That is good, please leave it there,

“What has this stone cost you?” I ponder. For me, the stone represents the responsibility of a program I no longer lead. It has been over a year, and that feeling still lingers. Santiago asks, “What am I unable to give to you as long as you hold onto this stone?” Type B Steve, I think I’m ready to kill off Type A Steve; nobody likes Type A Steve. In the days and weeks to come, I imagine saying, “I left that stone in Spain,” when that feeling returns. I place my rock at the foot of the cross and think, “Please don’t ask me to pick it up again.” 

There is one last big hill to climb before we are rewarded by a long downward slope to the bay, ending on a long, crowded beach walk. Campgrounds line the beach, and semi-permanent RVs line the campground roads. It’s a nice place if you don’t mind people—so many people. 

The TP Problem in Spain

The most memorable aspect of today was the glaring lack of WCs, or toilets. This creates a real tissue problem on the Camino; it’s a problem of Spain’s own making as there were zero places to relieve oneself, so behind most every bush or tree off The Way, scraps of TP flap in the breeze (a violation of the Pilgrim’s Leave No Trace guidelines: “A Pilgrim always packs out their tissue.” Suzanne came prepared with a dozen bread bags she’d saved – nice because they are airtight, so no smells or mess accompany her walk, and she leaves no trace. 

Beach time at the Arousa bay

Technology

We’ve been using an app called Buen Camino that Marina recommended our first night. It’s run by a former pilgrim, Carlos Mencos. Most pilgrims use this app or Camino Ninja, or bounce between them.

We’re staying at Albergue Turistico A Salazon, a quaint converted house with old stone walls and some modern amenities. Conveniently located near the dock, it offers a comfortable rest for pilgrims, except the TV playing the Republican Convention, interfering with my news fast. The otherwise thoughtful hosteler makes up for his limited English with kindness, and makes us feel right at home with his patience and warmth. Each pilgrim is generously provided with a liter of water, which will be good for tomorrow’s boat ride.

Today’s Hórreo is two-story

After I finished with the laundry (Suzanne was at the beach), I visited a physiotherapist to wrap my feet, which today really, really began to hurt. Kathleen does this 10-11 times per day, and the relief it provides for 50€ is totally worth it.  I think it’s my trail runners (Altra Lone Peak 6) that are not playing friendly with nor protecting my feet from all the pavement of this Camino. After treating both feet with infrared, Kathleen tapes them, and for the first time in days, I’m released from most of their pain.

Day 16 feet