On Sunday the 12th of May 2013, Harold and I walked from Melide to Arca do Pino. The Brierley distance today was 33 kilometres. Arca do Pino is only 18 kilometres from Santiago de Compostella.
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A few kilometres away from Santiago, I had slimmed down a lot since starting my life as a peregrino in April. We reached Arca do Pino on Sunday 12 May 2013. It was only 18 kilometres from Santiago de Compostella .
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Leaving Melide, the Camino stayed away from major roads until we reached the outskirts of Santiago.
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The Camino wound its way through forest once we left Melide on that Sunday.
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There was a noticeable spring in the step of every peregrino that Sunday; Santiago was so very close!
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This cow was not at all interested in the excitement of the peregrinos who strode past it that day. It had already seen many thousands of peregrinos.
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I never ceased to be astonished at how green Spain was. At home in Adelaide, the grass turns brown in colour in late November and it stays that way until the rain returns in late April in the following year. The grass in this part of Spain was NEVER brown in colour!
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We could tell we were getting closer to Santiago – there were logging trucks on the roads!
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The final few kilometres of Camino into Arca do Pino took us back onto country lanes, away from traffic.
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Along the way, we had to give right of way to the cattle - and they were not in a great hurry to go anywhere!
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We got to the top of a very high hill – and a large town was laid out in front of us! We felt we could almost touch our destination!
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For a man who was then aged 81, Harold was astonishingly fit. When I saw him in Canada in 2015, he was considering yet another pilgrimage on the Camino! The Camino sign indicates the distance to Santiago is 29.5 kilometres.
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There was a final stretch of greenery before we reached Arca do Pino.
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Diary Entry Made on Sunday 12 May 2013 at 8:36 pm
I am at a municipal albergue in Arca do Pino. Harold and I arrived at about 6:25 pm after leaving Melide at about 8:00 am. The total breaks we had along the way were perhaps 1.5 hours (or less), meaning the walking time was about 9 hours. The Brierley distance was about 33.3 kilometres. The day was bathed in beautiful sunshine, even though it was very cold when we started walking. There were no huge hills to be climbed and the Camino spent nearly the whole day wending through paths in forests or through quiet country lanes.
By now I am significantly fitter than I was when I started. My muscles are much stronger and I have lost a lot of weight. Although tired, I was not totally exhausted when we got to albergue at Arca do Pino.
Tomorrow we walk to Santiago - a mere 18 kilometres of thereabouts. Wow! I have nearly finished the Camino!
Distance Walked Today: 33.3 kilometres.
Total Distance Walked So Far: 749.9 kilometres.
Total Distance Covered So Far: 771.1 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.
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Soul Song Number 34 - Enlightenment
(12 May 2013)
Tomorrow you walk a mere eighteen kilometres to reach Santiago.
Today you walked in sparkling sunshine.
Your feet nimbly picked their path along the route traversed by the Camino.
Rocks were no obstacle,
You skipped across the top of them.
Mud and water on the path was irrelevant,
You confidently stepped around the mud and across the water.
Fatigue in the feet and legs didn't matter.
Your fatigue had disappeared,
Banished by the long walk across Spain.
Your backpack jiggled comfortably against your shoulders.
Smugly, you watched the way markers slip by,
Ticking off the number of kilometres remaining till you reached your journey's end.
When you ceased walking for the day the markers made an astonishing claim.
There were only eighteen kilometres left in your pilgrimage.
Tomorrow you reach your goal.
Do you think you are enlightened yet?
Possibly, but probably not.
Perhaps you have to reach Santiago before enlightenment manifests itself.
You will have to wait and see.
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