After the tarmac of the previous days the Norte in Galicia has revived the true spirit of the Camino; walking on quiet trails and minor roads accompanied by stunning scenery. Starting out in the dark, my breath is caught in the light of my head torch and my fingers complain of the cold. 
The early morning mist deadens the sound and allows time for quiet reflection. I’ve enjoyed much solitary walking over the last month but have never felt alone. The other day felt rather poignant, with my brother Pete walking on one side of me and my close friend Fong the other. How they would have loved the Way. They now walk the celestial Camino but their presence surrounds me. I am sure they would have enjoyed each others company as well. 
The Camino is quieter now. Many walkers take a week or fortnight’s holiday and do the Camino a section at a time, maybe over several years. The pilgrims who remain seem intent on finishing the Camino. Those who use travel companies carry light day packs and stay in hostels or hotels and rarely slum it with us paupers in the albergues. They don’t know what they’re missing!
The albergues seemed to have stepped up a gear in terms of quality. We had a fabulous night at our albergue in the tiny hamlet of ‘A Lagoa’. The owner’s mother invited us into the kitchen to admire the most amazing pilgrim’s meal she was preparing for us, including a choice of soups, paella, 3 hot meats, tortilla patatas, pasta and meat sauce, grilled peppers… The Santiago cake drizzled with sweet wine for dessert was to die for! 
Yet nothing could beat the more modest experience the following night, staying in the hugely impressive Sobrado Dos Monxes, an 1,100 year old Cisterian monastery. It was quite humbling to be sleeping in the same ‘habitacions‘ that pilgrims have been resting in over so many centuries. 
Over the last few days, a new Camino Family has come together, a mix of German, Austrian, American, Spanish, Italian, Israeli, and 1 Englishman! It’s a real bag of characters but I would happily walk with any of them, anywhere. Crazy and fun Liz and Sue, the kind and loving Shimmy, Leo the Italian charmer who shows me the Camino from a different perspective through his eyes and ears . Victor a Spanish guy who’s escorting his partially sighted father on the trip he’d always dreamed of but never believed possible. And of course Jannik, Anton and Max, my regular walking buddies. Wonderful, wonderful people each and every one of them. 
From seeing maybe 20-30 regular peregrinos eaxh day and recognising eveey one of them, suddenly we were swallowed up by hundreds of walkers. The routes merged at Arzua and we stopped at the tourist information bureau to have our credenciáls stanped. “Where have you come from?” the man asked. “Irun, the Camino Norte” we replied. “Good choice” he said. “The French Way is so crowded these days. It’s like a party”.
We soon found out what he meant. The route itself is actually very pleasant and the French Way has more resources thrown at it than other routes, so the trails are good and off road as much as possible. The downside is you never seem to be more than 100 metres from a pilgrim – in the morning on the Norte we’d not seen even a solitary walker. Many of the new walkers come on guided tours and always look pristine! Which is of course fine, the long distance pilgrims don’t and shouldn’t have any Camino exclusivity rights. We’re all on our own Camino. Nevertheless it was a huge shock, as were the many bars and stalls at the side of the road selling Camino merchandise. 
We rocked up at a private Albergue mid afternoon after 33kms walking and luckily took the last two places in a twin room. It was more like a holiday resort with a smart cafe and bar and lounge chairs in the garden. We seriously chilled for the next few hours. Tomorrow is the final 28kms and Santiago, our ultimate destination. It’s not at all real at present and goodness knows how we’re going to feel tomorrow. But then tomorrow’s another day. 
Peebeecat 