It’s probably clear by now that I didn’t come to the Camino to latch onto people. I walk way more each day than most others do. That means I meet a ton of people, but our time together is usually short—half a morning or maybe a full day—and then I’m gone. There’s no one here who could keep up with my pace, and I knew that before I even started. The more often you find yourself on the Camino, the more challenges and goals you set.
This time around, I came in really well prepared; physically and mentally. Besides hiking the hills back home, I was hitting the gym 3–4 times a week, strengthening my joints and working on muscles you don’t use while walking. I average about 100 km a week at home. Today started off slowly; I had zero motivation to walk. It happens. The bed was just too comfortable, and it was raining outside. But I had to get moving. I didn’t dare complain about the weather, because the Almighty is everywhere and hears everything. I didn’t want sun, but I didn’t want rain either. That’s how it goes out here—when it’s sunny, you want rain; when it rains, you crave sun. Never satisfied.
Yesterday I checked the forecast, and it showed clouds, so I planned to go over our agreed 40 km limit. As I opened the app and started calculating how far I could get, the Almighty appeared like a lightning bolt on my right shoulder. He asked if he was seeing correctly—that I was about to push it again. He asked about my health and reminded me of the deal we’d made. I told him I was just checking what the trail offered. He didn’t buy it. He accused me of lying and reminded me not to forget our agreement. It was only a matter of time before one of us broke the deal; him or me. That was my cold reply. The rest of the crew had already placed bets on this a few days ago. Everyone figured I’d be the first to break it and flip the bird at the deal. When the Almighty joined me on this trail, he had some idea of the chaos he was getting into. He knew his “right way” would be a joke to me. So, instead, he started “reading” the unwritten rules of my Camino. That’s how he made sure I bumped into two hilarious Italians who slowed down my pace with fun conversation. Suddenly, the walk wasn’t about how many kilometres I racked up—it was about getting to know each other. Italians never run out of things to say. Their holy trinity: mama, food, hygiene. After we covered all those, we realised we’d be sleeping at the same hostel that night. The older one—39 years old—is named Cesare. From today on, he’s Julius Caesar. He liked the nickname. The younger one, 20, is called Alessandro, so now he’s Alexander the Great. This is how you win people over—wrap their names in legends that marked an era. I can’t say the boys were slow walkers, but still a bit too slow for my pace.
When we got to the village with our hostel, we stopped at a bar for a drink. One drink turned into hours of chatting and laughter. Since it’s their first long-distance trek, they had tons of questions—about walking, backpacks, and first-aid. I was happy to answer everything—I know how helpful that info is. I also taught them the rule of one beer while walking, but more on that some other time. Julius Caesar and I found we have similar travel plans—we both want to walk all the way to Finisterre and maybe even do the Camino Portugués after, if our legs survive. Julius is insanely funny, and he can joke about anything. Even the Berlin guy isn’t off-limits. We laughed all evening. These are my people on the Camino—full of life and always ready to teach you something.
I told the Italians that in two days I’m stopping in a small town called La Isla, where a friend I met on last year’s Camino has a place. We follow each other on Instagram, and he reached out to say I better stop by—or he’ll hold a grudge. La Isla is just under 70 km from where we are now. I told them I plan to walk 50 km tomorrow, but I still need to check in with the Almighty first. They cracked up when I said he’s been keeping me company in my head this year.
Since they can’t cover as much ground in a day as I can, we decided to split up tomorrow and meet again the next day in La Isla for some proper fun.
