Media (27)
Between trail and alignments: the group redraws itself.
July 12, walking toward Portomarín, with my head already projected to the final days.
July 12 was a day when Camino and logistics traveled together. On the trail the pace was steady, but meanwhile chats were full: who was arriving in Santiago, who was going to Finisterre, who was trying to understand whether it was still possible to meet all together at least once before the end.
With Catherine we kept moving in alignment, and at the same time we also managed the practical piece of dates: her flight was fixed for July 17 and she could not move it. This put a real constraint on the next stages, so every choice of the day was also a calendar piece.
In the wider group there was talk of a possible regrouping toward Ribadiso and then Santiago, but it was clear everyone was living a different ending: someone already in the city, someone still in full stages, someone on personal detours. More than one single group, we were a moving network.
In the evening, between messages and clarifications on plans and dates, the tone still stayed light: tiredness on us, but desire to stay connected and not lose the human thread that had brought us there.
Backpack, steps, and road ahead; then, as soon as you stop, the phone fills with locations, times, ideas, and small plans to meet again.
In the final part of the Camino, the real difficulty is not only arriving: it is making individual freedom coexist with the desire to still share pieces of road with the right people.
If reading this diary makes you feel the Camino might be calling you, but you still need to clarify a few things, start with the free guide.
Day notes