Ready for the final haul

Apologiez furst upp four eny spellling mistooks en this poste. Thay r knott mi fault.

I am in Vilalba at the moment...only days from Santiago. I still cannot believe it.

 What a great day...it started off drizzling as I left the coffee shop. In shorts and short sleeves I walked efficiently to make sure I stayed warm. I got a real surprise to hear mytracks tell me is was doing over 6km per hour. Last week I worked hard to maintain 5km average and it has been the subject of many of 'those' conversations.

Yesterday by pushing it I got to 5.5km average by the end of the walk with the big uphills...but I was very surprised at 6.2 today.

The going was flattish but there was a lot of uneven ground.  I was pleasantly surprised.

Time for the 'spooky' section. Over the last days I have seen many of you...staff from school, friends, family. It is quite bizarre to have someone turn around from hanging out the washing as the you walk past...and the face belongs to someone back home.

Don't even go there but it does help me prepare for reintegration to life as it will become. It is just that I am not ready to let this life go just yet. And yes...there has been many 'conversations' on the topic to which the standard reply I seem to get is laughter and amusement. Something IS strange in the neighborhood.

Alburgue standards are rising. The one I passed today looked gorgeous.

I walked right by it..opting to be 2.5km closer for tomorrow. ..which will be 32km. ..a good haul to Miraz. It should be 2 stages of 16k  but I am going to try it.

My accommodation is different. ..a pensione run by 3 sisters..the youngest being 70 odd. As i was shown the room I felt I had stepped back 50 years or so.  A little scary but I am in this place for a reason...which does elude me at the moment. ..but never mind.

I have come and gone from the room numerous times as I explore this quarter of town...supermarket. ..wifi sites...exploring. Each time I return they tell me more information. ..the outside door locks at midnight...I can leave in the morning at any time .(a 3x explanation of how the lock works from the inside)...which door to knock on if I have a problem (bilingual student 3 doors along from my room). Finally they wanted to know where NZ was. ..no idea..I am the first kiwi they had met.  They also run a wine and high end liqour store on the ground floor...introducing me to customers. ...very sweet and funny.  Very easy to be patient because they really went out of their way to check I knew everything.

The room itself almost had cobwebs. .the key is massive for my door. I think I will use my liner and sleeping bag anyway tonight and will get an early (630) start. Try and do the 30 odd k by 2pm.

I am having dinner just up the road from 1960 pensione and they have a whole lot of Australian and kiwi music playing. ..surprising. ..but again just another sign directing my thoughts to Aotearoa.

I confirmed my travel arrangements back into England and NZ today as well. Time with a strong wifi tbat copes and doesn't keep dropping signal is important when booking flights.

Well it is 2030...time to repack and get ready for the haul to Miraz.  Day after tomorrow the pildrim tide swells from 20 or 30 on our path to an expected 600 to 700. I am not ready for that at all so I will savour the quiet day.

Last thing to mention for those bored enough still to be reading. ..many sections of today's walk was on medieval roads and an awesome medieval bridge. If you have ever been in the Ureweras and listened to the stories that are flowing at each corner...these roads are similar. They are very evocative and have many stories to tell. An artist or a writer would have a field day just being able to stop any listen. Many many people have past by where I was walking today over many centuries and you could almost hear them. It was like walking through a Dr Who script or something out of Stargate...they were only separated by time..not distance.

Of course I do realise that I might finally seal your opinion of my sanity levels...but I would not have missed it for anything.

Told you it was a great day!

Adios amigos. ..manyana.