Yesterday my walk ended quite early and with a painful foot. I walked with a limp around the town center of Redondela to see if some relaxed walking offered some relief. It doesn’t really. I realize it’s in part because of the large distance I walked after my resting day. Go easy is the mantra I have been repeating to myself during the first part of this trip not really having complied with it. Is this my body repeating the same mantra to me again? Tomorrow I will really try and listen. Will I succeed?

I went to bed with a satisfied feeling yesterday. After I went out to eat something while watching the Spaniards cheering on their national football team I returned to the hostel to see if there is still some social activity going on. I enter the lobby and at a table 2 people are playing cards. They immediately ask me to join them. They are Elena and Pedro (made that up because I actually forgot his name) who are brother and sister from Asturias, a region in the north of Spain not far from Santiago. It is what I had imagined myself doing some night before going on this trip. We play a game called Chinchón which I may have played before but I don’t exactly remember the rules. We play for about an hour or so and talk and joke in the meantime. It’s nice to hear some Spanish people speaking their language. I always like hearing a language being spoken like it should. It makes me want to speak it. The game and the socializing takes my mind of the pain in my foot which has worried me somewhat after I arrived at the hostel.

When I wake up the pain is still there although it may have alleviated somewhat. There are quite a bit of people staying at the hostel as we are now on a more frequented part of the route. Some of them are already packing their bags. I am also wide awake and start my morning procedure hoping to also catch a glimpse of yesterday’s late night card playing companions. There does not seem to be any movement in their cubicle when I walk past it to the bathroom. Also when I have finished my packing procedure and walk to the lobby to see if there is any breakfast there is still no movement. There is also no breakfast which means I have to leave the hostel to get some. I collect my backpack from the sleeping quarters and think about leaving them a note but in stead confide in the Camino to bring us back together later today.

During breakfast I make a plan for the day. My foot felt somewhat ok while walking to the café but I will have to take it easy anyway. I will break the 20 km distance to Pontevedra up into 5 sections having a break after every 4 kilometres. I will also try and avoid one of two climbs which last time when I had a similar pain in my other foot seemed to worsen the pain. I hope I will make it all the way.

When I start walking through the historical centre of Redondela the pain somewhat intensifies. I trust that this will probably be due to morning stiffness and that it will become less again. In the meantime I quickly reach the outskirts of the town and start walking the now familiar country lanes taking me towards the first climb of the day. The guidebook is not very clear on where to turn left to take the detour which avoids the climb and I end up walking toward the climb anyway. Apparently the Camino wants me to do the climb anyway. The girls who had left the café just before me are already long gone. I advance slowly but steadily while I am being passed by another pilgrim, a young guy with some earphones in, who greets me shortly. I am annoyed by his attitude and the fact that he is wearing headphones. That’s no way to do the Camino I think.

Shortly after the climb starts. The young guy that just passed me is talking french with another pilgrim. We end up walking up the climb in a queue, me walking some 30 metres behind the French guy. I see how he is trying to take off his jacket while walking and while still having is backpack on. He manages to do it and I have all kinds of negative thoughts about it. After that he is stretching his hands and arms while not walking much faster then me with my painful foot. I wonder why his presence bothers me so much and why I just don’t pay more attention the the surroundings which are now what more forest like. Luckily I am already nearing my first 4km mark which I will use to rest a bit and get some distance between us.

After some 10 minutes I get going again. No one in sight anymore. That’s a relief. Now full attention can go to the pain in my foot again. It has not really alleviated yet although I am warmed up by now. The descent is not helping either. It’s somewhat steep and followed by a dangerous stretch of road where there is no other option than walking on the side of it while trucks and cars are passing by. Not the nicest experience. Maybe this is all just meant to keep the attention of my foot. Who knows?

After some 400 metres I get off the road and walk into the town of Arcade where I collect a stamp at a local hostel. Outside of the hostel I decide to tighten up my walking shoes at the side of a fountain. As I am doing so I see a turtle popping his head out of the water. I talk a bit to the turtle like I do with many animals along the route. There are in total 3 turtles inside the fountain moving themselves slowly to see what’s going on besides their little compound. Maybe this is another sign and I should do like the turtle and move slowly.

As I look up I see an Asian pilgrim walking in the wrong direction looking at his phone. I shout “hey pilgrim” and wave to him to indicate that he is going into the wrong direction. We resume together in the right direction. His name is Brian and he is from Hong Kong. Brian likes to talk and gets distracted easily. He talks mainly about how he wants to enjoy today’s walk and take it slow. Even more signs of slowness. I don’t mind walking slow with him for a bit as we walk through town and we even come to a full stop at a coffee bar where we drink a coffee together and he adds me to his Camino Family WhatsApp group with all people I haven’t met.

I hope the Spanish siblings will show up out of the alley across the street from the café at some moment. That will be more entertaining. But it does not happen. So I end our togetherness by going to the supermarket to collect my lunch and quickly I am on my way again. I have Brian in sight rapidly again and try to scare him when he is plucking a tangerine from the side of the road. He does not really get the joke and I pass by him. The coffee break has done me good and my foot actually feels a lot better. That’s nice. I walk through some steep alleys and out of the small town again. The weather is quite enjoyable and the views are nice as I am walking through the countryside again already having begun my second climb of the day.

I am still remembering myself every now and then to take it slow when it’s almost lunch time already. I think about stopping in the forest but continue a bit further to look for a sunny spot. I end up settling for some spot on the side of the trail in between to road works where I don’t hear the quite penetrating sound of either. As I prepare my sandwiches Brian walks by again and tells me he is still taking it slow. He also is in pain now, seems to be a common pilgrim thing although it’s only his second day of walking. The sandwiches are delightful as well is lying on my backpack and taking in some sun. There are worse things to do on a Monday.

The rest of the way I don’t see any other pilgrims anymore. My Spanish friend also have not gone by yet. Nevermind. I am enjoying the walk now. Even the pain in my foot has disappeared almost completely now. When I arrive at a junction there are two signs pointing in different directions. I know there is an alternative route here which leads along some stream. I take that route which turns out to be lovely. A small stream surrounded by trees meanders it’s way to the countryside during a few kilometers all the way up to Pontevedra. It feels like double the distance but I like it. I feel playful in what feels like a wonderworld now with the afternoon sun shining through the trees.

The path along the stream takes me all the way into the city centre of Pontevedra. I walk straight to the hostel I had spotted in the Camino app that is installed on my phone. Outside there is a group of people waiting to enter. I see Brian, the French guy who still annoys me, and some other people from the WhatsApp group. The Spanish siblings that I was hoping for are nowhere to be seen. I am a bit disappointed, it’s not the company i was hoping for, but I am sure there is some other good reason why this is happening.