The wind was still a little cold this morning and my roommate Shortcut Sally and I had a quick breakfast in the bar at the front of the Pension. It was supposed to be relatively flat but a little long today.

The camarera very kindly walked us out to that dreadful highway and pointed us left at the very first turn then a la derecha for the next – nevertheless we both stood perplexed at the first turn trying to work out which of the two turns she actually meant. We were off camino and needed to get back on! Luckily for us the German wine connoisseurs from last night came along and led us in the right direction.

It wasnt long before I was walking alone again although I dont mind that at all. Better than injuring myself trying to keep up I’d say. I made sure I stopped at each and every possible eating place on the way. I didnt want to end up like it was yesterday! Starving and running on empty after 10 hours!

Anyway I passed a couple of the most interesting sites on the camino ingles today. One included a dog being harassed by a rabbit. And the other was a pilgrim being eaten by a dinosaur.

Well I thought they were interesting anyway.

Along the way I really felt like the only person with English as my first language. Apart from the lady I met on day one that is. But she had taken a taxi back to make sure she started before the 100km mark. I hope she made it far enough! We bumped into her the night in Betanzos and she said she was a little concerned.

Last night when everyone was speaking German I went to sleep thinking i could speak German. Well I laughed at their jokes. But some jokes dont need words do they.

(actually they all spoke English to some extent but reverted to German when together)

I also kept bumping into three lovely spanish girls (actually they were Galician). I was glad to chat with them later in the day and before I knew it they were singing Galician hymns as we walked along! But then I found out one of them was Catalonian! So I called them the Singing Galicians plus one. You may remember the singing Germans from last year. They are still my favourite singing pilgrims just dont tell the singing Galicians plus one please.

Anyway we wandered through an area of eucalyptus trees that were seemingly propagated here. Normally they’re considered a pest outside Australia but apparently everyone knows how useful eucalyptus can be for colds and breathing. Anyway given that they were a very happy singing bunch I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring. I started singing “Give me a home among the gum trees, with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two and a kangaroo …”. And before I knew it they were off into the distance! I didnt think I sounded that bad!

I continued on chatting with different people along the way – mostly in spanish so it was good practice for me. I kept seeing the nice father and son who had forgone the lower bunk in the horrible albergue for me after which I relocated to hotel california! I felt bad that they both had to climb onto top bunks – but clearly their knees weren’t as bad as mine!

Had quite a lovely day rolling through the Galician country side stopping and taking photos whenever I felt like it and chatting to people along the way – even getting the locals to pose for my action shots.

I ran out of water today! Can you believe it! I thought I’d been well prepared with over 1.5 litres in my pack. And I stopped twice for almost an hour. But it was hot. It was damn hot! And the last bit was ugly through an industrial area with no bars or cafes! I finally arrived in the last town and crawled into the first cafe which just happened to be at a pool! I’m sorry to say I had no energy to unpack find my swimmers, swim, repack and get to my nights accommodation!

I finally arrived at a great albergue and Short cut sally sent me a message to come and join them for a rest in the park. I wanted a rest that’s for sure but I went to the farmacia first as my knee was swollen again and I definitely needed the ibuprofen the doctor had suggested to take with some stomach protection. Unfortunately I had also shoved my Nyngan wool too far down my sock and created a problem with a toe nail I hadn’t trimmed properly! But that was nothing compared to some of the blisters in the German camp!

Well stocked complimentary toiletries at our albergue real !

Our Guidebook Guru came and found me at the farmacia and led me in a round about way to the park. I was starving but was happy to be an honorary German for the afternoon.

The Germans drank beer and I drank Aquarius- a bit like Gatorade to help me recover!

After the break in the park the Germans planned to eat tapas with the Spaniards – at least that’s what I thought – maybe I couldn’t speak German after all ! We managed a quick photo with a couple of the Spaniards before everyone went the wrong way and we ended up at a bar in the back streets where a local lady came and asked me why were we there because it would make us sick! There were much better places she said! – she stuck her fingers in her mouth to indicate just how bad the food was – she tried to tell me a better place but it was too late. Everyone had ordered! We didnt get sick but I was sorry I didnt investigate the best eateries myself first!

While we were at the bar the TV indicated there were floods all over Spain except in the north west corner where we were! Well that was lucky . We don’t usually see the tv weather report on the camino!

I returned home early and went to sleep ready for our last day on the camino.

Even though I appeared to be confident and doing well, I knew in the back of my mind that things could go wrong at the last minute – most of my friends knew I had fallen rather heavily 3kms out last year so they understood my need to go slowly! I was almost there again but this year I wasnt getting too excited yet!

Last year I was singing Elton John I’m still standing a little too soon! This time a shot of fear sped through my body every time I felt a slight stumble as I walked. My long lasting headache had finally left me and the last thing I wanted was to have it back! Cuidado Cuidado ! Carefully Carefully I went with every step! Even in my sleep I was walking with care (at the same time as I was talking German apparently!)

Hasta manana a todos!