Barbadelo to Hospital de la Cruz, 31km

Have to say that while I have enjoyed the rain over the last few days, I was slightly disheartened to open the door this morning to another downpour. Today, after all, was a big day  – I was due to crack the 100km mark. 

Despite the rain, the scenery was, once again, magical with a wide stone path crossing little brooks and winding its way through ancient, gnarled chestnut trees. It reminded me of England in terms of how green it was and that real sense that it had been there for hundreds of years.  I had a very brief chat to a couple called Jose and Joanna who I have been bumping into since Astorga and, proud Galician that Jose is, he quickly corrected me in this comparison and told me this part of the world was most like Ireland … though in fact it was Ireland that was like Galicia. 

Since entering Galicia, the path has been marked with stone posts every half kilometre that give you the distance remaining to Santiago. While this is slightly reassuring evidence that you are actually making progress (would have killed for these on the meseta)  it was also a reminder of how little time I have left on the camino. I got myself into quite a spin in the few hours leading up to the 100km marker: had I made the most of the Camino experience? What had I learned? What did I still need to learn? What would I do differently if I had my time again? (very unlikely to happen!)

I was starting to feel quite emotional at this point and had in mind that I would stop at the waymarker for a break, crack an orange and contemplate all of these questions ato make sure I made the most of the 100km moment.  That was until I got there. 

After about a dozen beautifully moss-covered markers in fairytale woodland settings, have to say the big one was a bit of a letdown … despite a miraculous clearing of the rain and the appearance of the sun about a minute before I reached it. The marker was on the edge of a farm smelling richly of cow, splattered with mud, covered beyond recognition in graffiti and nestled just in front of a large green bin. Awe-inspiring it was not. Ideal spot for navel-gazing – no way!

 Though to be fair, I did get a second (and equally disappointing) bite of the cherry when I rounded the corner to find another 100km marker. Just to be sure I snapped off selfies with both of them and then promptly continued on my way. Slightly deflated, but still very aware that this really is the home stretch and as such, hyper-aware of everything going on around me. 

There is definitely a funny feel to the Camino at this point – everyone is either dragging it out for as long as they can or smashing through to get to the end. I haven’t decided which camp I fit into yet – felt like I took today at a very relaxed pace (lots of picnics and cafe stops) but also ended up walking quite a long day – mainly because I was really enjoying myself and didn’t like the look of the various options I had for stopping in the last 10km or so (or to be honest, the place I am in, but enough was enough)

Will see what happens tomorrow – am approaching it without plans or expectations. Though have to fess up to having just checked the weather report – yep, more rain!