Day 24, Pontevedra - O Pino

33,4km, 49 240 steps

I almost made it!

Yes. As I mentioned yesterday in my post, I tried to make something new today. I sent my backpack to my next destination. It was 34,7 kilometers away from Pontevedra. (As usual the kilometers in the app were wrong.)

I was well aware that it might be too far for me, but I still wanted to give it a try.

I had two short days behind so I thought without the weight of the backpack I might be able to do it.

And I almost did.

The morning was tiresome and I assume the fact that I tried to stay clear of the groups made me slower than I would've been without them around.

I had to stop from time to time to let them pass and then slow down to get my peace. There was so many groups. Too many groups. Too many people. Way too many.

The cafeterias were stacked with people and I figured ordering food would be a suicide for a day like this. I was supposed to make it to O Pino. That's where I sent my backpack.

I tried to eat what I found quick and wherever I found an empty place to sit down. Even the now marked Roman road I was walking didn't make it better.

At some point I started listening to music. I found that the London Underground Song made me tolerate the people around me better and I amused myself for good part of the day trying to come up with new lyrics for the song, a version to suit my situation. (Yes, I have a dark sense of humor and yes, I do creative stuff like this.)

Eventually I had to sit down to eat something. I walked to Caldas de Reis and got something to eat, french fries and cheesecake. Not really something I would eat on a regular day... But today. I knew that I still had another 10 kilometers to go and would need the energy.

The 25 kilometers to Caldas de Reis had taken a lot more time than I thought it would. My body felt good, but I was a bit worried cause it was getting late. It was around 4pm when I arrived there and when I continued it was 5:30pm.

When I finally reached Santa Marina de Carracedo I had an hour of good pace behind me, but I also knew that I wouldn't have enough time to eat and get everything done tonight, if I walked the remaining 5 kilometers. So it was time to call a taxi. After the kilometers today, I guess no one can really blame me for it.

I really wanted to get to my backpack. I would've probably stayed in Caldas de Reis, if it wasn't for my backpack.

I found my backpack in a cafeteria after making sure I have a bed for the night.

Tomorrow is a similar day, one way or another I'm going to make it to Santiago. Let's hope I still have some of that famous Finnish Sisu left in me and today didn't drain me.

#CaminoPortuguese #CaminoPortugueseCosta #CaminodeSantiago #Camino #pilgrimwithadragontattoo