Day 7

Hi Everyone,

The fairytale of painless sailing along the Camino came to an abrupt end today.

Although we all still feel quite good, today was very draining. The heat, longer distance, and challenging terrain (a near-vertical climb after 5 miles of urban hiking through Vigo, then walking on the side of an actual highway with zooming cars and cargo trucks) wore us out mentally and physically. The blaring sun gave us headaches, which were only cured at the end of the day by a relaxing shower at our nice apartment in Arcade.

A day of some misery ultimately turned around, though.

After dinner, mom and I went to a grocery store to stock up on supplies for the 21+ miles tomorrow. As soon as we walked in, a lady in her 50s struck up a conversation with me in Spanish. She seemed to be talking about a sun hat. The linguist that I am — though I don’t speak a lick of Spanish — I was able to nod and say “si” and “bien” as she rambled for a couple of minutes.

I guess my acting wasn’t up to par, however, because she soon asked where we’re from (in English). Her face turned to amazement when we told her we are from New York (people here are totally obsessed with New York).

Then the lady told me I am very strong to be doing the Camino. She followed that — very off topic — with a complaint about her teeth. And then, without missing a beat, she explained that my mom is a very strong woman and that she is very important to me (as if I didn’t already know that).

She then gave me a fist bump, a cool handshake, and proceeded to kiss mom’s hand. Finally, she bowed and walked away after wishing us “Buen Camino.” Mom and I looked at each other, utterly speechless.

It’s moments like these I will never forget. Was this friendly toothless lady some kind of special fairytale messenger we were supposed to meet on our journey? It definitely was a surreal moment in a very ordinary setting, right between the soft drinks aisle and the cleaning supplies.

I’m sure we’ll meet with more surprises tomorrow.

Until then!