Did I say it was all downhill?

From Arzua:
Man what a tough day. As Carol said,"They just had to throw one more test at us, didn´t they?" And what a test it was. Long and hard!!! It was a test of physical endurance and mental determination to make it and not bail off the day earlier than we had planned.
The distance was not the longest we´ve had, it was 17 miles, but oh those ups and downs, literally. Although the elevation chart shows that we dropped about 400 feet for the day, and there were not those loooong pulls of 1,000 feet, we climbed to a village only to descend on the other side at the same elevation at which we had started. Then we descended to a river only to ascend on the other side of the valley. Looking back, we had neither gained nor lost elevation, but that didn´t take away from the fact that it was tough. We must have climbed over a dozen times where we ascended for 15-30 minutes then plunged back down. Knees objected mightily over the last 5 miles, and quads rebelled for the last 10.
But we survived and are now so close, we "could walk from here." Depending upon which chart your using (I´ve been using the one with the longest distance because I didn´t want to have to do more miles when I thought I was done, but now I´m using the shortest one possible and will deal with reality if, indeed, I have to) we´re 21 to 24 miles from reaching Santiago.
I´m being circumspect about the distances because today I remembered the first day we walked from Roncesvalles and passed the memorial to the 64 year old Japanese pilgrim who died of a heart attack on his first day on the Camino. Also I know that on Monday I will pass a similar memorial to a 68 year old German who died on the last climb of the Camino, just short of the "mountain of joy" from where you can finally see Santiago just below, 2.5 miles away. So we know that things can, and often do, happen, but we´re filled with confidence. Two short days of 10-12 miles apiece and we´re there.
In spite of the toughness, the weather was glorious again. The rain held off and we walked in lovely settings. Long stretches through eucalyptus forests where the birds just sang for us all the way through seeming to give us encouragement and enthusiasm. At the end of the forest, the world opened up into glorious Galician views. Local ladies picking peas outside their homes giving encouragement, cars honking horns as they passed from their viewpoint of the Camino above, and farmers working their fields. All took away from our sense of tiredness and gave us spirit to carry on. After eight and a half hours we arrived and didn´t even try to get into the refugio. They are small in this area, 40-50 beds, and with the swarms of pilgrims, it´s just a dead issue to wait in line or walk to the refugio to see if there´s a bed, when we know in fact, there´s none. So we´ve opted to look for hotels now. Earlier on the Camino we stayed in refugios with 15 beds, and they didn´t fill up. In Portomarin, the refugio has 300 beds and was completely filled by mid afternoon. Gee, that means that I have to have my own bathroom and shower, and I get to go to bed when I want to, and for this I have to pay $35. Okay, I can do this.
There really isn´t anybody that we want to visit with in the refugios now anyway. Everybody on our Camino is gone and we´re left with the tennis lady and such, so it´s really an easy call.
We have met a great little family, but they too are hoteling it since they walk slower with the boys. I think I mentioned the mom and dad walking with their 12 and 7 year old sons. Alberto, the 12 year old is serious, and Jorge, the 7 year old is just the cutest kid, after Max, naturally. Whenever we´re together he always comes down and sits with me. He watches me do my cross word puzzles, and practices his English. Only seven, he´s already had two years and his pronunciation isn´t bad. You can see the wheels turn in his little head as he tries to put sentences together. I show him my map and elevation charts and we talk about what is ahead of us the following day. It isn´t a far jump for me to think that in just a few years, I will be able to do the same with Max. I can hardly wait!!
Their first day on the Camino was the climb to O Cebreiro. Mom and dad were exhausted, but the boys were full of energy and spirit. Each day, however, that energy has sapped as the physical drain of day after day began to take its toll. Last night when we saw them, Jorge was so exhausted he was just one frown away from breaking totally down. We saw them later in a pastry shop (Carol´s trying to fatten me up) and he bounded up to me from behind with the spirit and energy I love to see. Amazing what a little sugar in the body will do for you:-)
Sofia and Christina are two young Spanish women we shared a room with in O Cebreiro. We left before they had gotten up in the morning, and two nights ago, the last night we stayed in a refugio, as I was writing my letter, they found Carol and informed her that I had left my pants in the room and that they had been looking for us for four nights, carrying these things around with them asking everybody: "do you know the American couple? He´s tall with a beard........." I had gotten my clean pair of pants out to wear (the others weren´t really dirty, I´d only worn them for 10 days) and so hadn´t thought about them. Getting dressed and packed, as I have said before, in the dark is a recipe for errors. Anyway, it was really sweet of them to not just throw them away, but rather to carry extra weight so that someone else might not suffer. Such is the spirit of the Camino.
Carol has been unexpectedly pleased and surprised on occasion when we´ve come across people selling cherries or raspberries. Sometimes just a little honor box for you to leave a Euro, sometimes a roadside stand like you´d find at home. Give that woman a chance for some fresh fruit and it´s enough lift her spirits for the day.
One day about a week ago, we were walking through this very economically depressed village and out pops a little lady with a fresh batch of crepes which she makes for the pilgrims. Giving encouragement, she sprinkles powdered sugar on them and you can take one, roll it up for a really nice surprise and treat. She didn´t ask for money, but did say if we wanted to leave a donation, that would be nice too.
Over and over again, we have been touched by the simple acts of kindness and encouragements. The Camino is not well known in the States, but it´s a major deal here. On the night we had Garlic soup at the monetary; they went around and asked nationalities, there were 16 different countries represented. The biggest laugh was when one man answered that he was from: "Pais vasco," Basque country. The Camino is officially one of Europe’s cultural itineraries.
As we walked today, we reflected on moments we have enjoyed on the Camino. There were so many, certainly too many to list here, but we could play the game: "What happened on the day we travelled from point a to point b. Each response by one of us brought a flood of memories from the other. Details which one of us had forgotten were filled in by the other. It seems like just a short time ago we actually started, and yet, it seems like such a long time ago with each day filled with its own memories. There are no lost days on the Camino. Each day is vibrant and alive. Each day is special and meaningful. Even the day to O Cebreiro in the rain is something we treasure (now that it´s done). There was the group of people out picking up snails on the road one morning, no big chore, they´re every where. I think they were lost pilgrims who bogged down in exhaustion, but that´s another story. There was the herd of goats through which we passed. Carol naturally engaged the goat herder in conversation and before she was through was offered one to take home. Try one of those as carry on luggage. And of course the people all along the way.
God, what a memorable experience for us. I haven´t been able in any measure to express in these letters how much it has meant to us, but it´s truly everything we had hoped it would be. And now with two, hopefully, easy days ahead, we can finally think of the culmination of the dream and quest.
I´ll try to write one last time tomorrow before reaching Santiago. Certainly I´ll have something to say upon arrival. So in the mean while, a safe and happy weekend for all of you. It certainly seems to fit for us as well.
Love to all,
Carol and Jim