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31. To Arzua & Arca - ONLY 20K TO GO!

November 30, 2011

6.00 a.m. Alone in the kitchen of the albergue in Palas and it's raining heavily. As it was in the beginning! Have a long time of silence before moving on. Federico the young Italian comes in. He doesn't speak. Mark, Becky pray with me for my foot. They do this spontaneously from time to time and on one occasion Mark bent down to touch and bless my foot. I really appreciate this.

Before leaving we have breakfast in the nearby restaurant. We meet a couple from Sweden who have to return home and cannot complete the Camino this time. That has to be very hard. I couldn't bear the idea of not being able to finish at this stage. And yet, if that were to happen it would be the real Camino - giving up when you don't want to! I've met a few people along the way who had to abandon their own plan and I think of Christine who had to return home because her mother is ill.

2.15 p.m. A restaurant in Melide. My foot is in uproar! Progress is very slow and I've another 10k to go which will take me about three hours. I've just seen an octopus being lifted out of a pot, all red and being cut up. Everyone here is eating it - pulpo. Except me! I'm having chips and a Coke!

December 1. A bar somewhere. It was 7.00 p.m. when I got to Arzua yesterday after 10 hours walking. Fit to collapse. On the way I met two cyclists from the USA - Alex and Juan Carlos. We arrived at an open church at the same time to get our credencials stamped. When I finally got to Arzua they were in a restaurant with Becky & Mark. My foot was a subject for discussion. Mark suggested that it might be a hairline fracture and Juan Carlos, who is a doctor, tended to agree. Athletes get this all the time and the only cure is rest which is not possible yet so he suggested I tape my together until I get home. It has helped.

Back at the albergue Michel - the very nice Frenchman - sat on the edge of my bunk and said I should take the bus tomorrow and I was inclined to agree but when the morning came again my only thought was to walk!

Federico has got his long hair cropped leaving just one long tail. He now looks like a budding hippie. This morning he is friendly and gives me a hug before I leave. I'm touched by the amount of affection I experience from the younger people.

This bar where I am resting from the pain and the rain is a hippie-ish kind of place, with a mix of the Ages - New Age and Christian. The music is Gallic, the language similar to Irish and there are some Irish CD's on sale, including Clannad. The woman at the bar is the happiest I've seen in all of Galicia. Her stamp for our credencial is done by hand in gold. It's really beautiful and unique.

Mark and Becky have gone on ahead to Arca which is about 8k away, having walked with me the whole morning. We had a wonderful time. I asked them to pray for my discernment about my future - whether I should work with Ceili or go to Shankill as planned. Mark said why don't we do it now. So we stopped in the middle of the track we were walking on and we prayed. I left it in God's hands then and trust that the right thing will happen.

Arca 5.25 p.m. We're staying in a very nice private albergue which costs €10 for the night - double what we normally pay. But it's worth it. The hospitalero is very fond of Irish music.

Another new pilgrim is Olivier from France who is very preoccupied with beautiful women and keeps talking to me about them. He has a boyish innocence.

We're now only 20k from Santiago. I cannot believe it!!!

There's a song from the movie 'The Way' - it's 'Thank You' by Alanis Morrisette and it's in my heart now. The mood of it!


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