Day 35: Santiago to Negreira (21.9 km/ 13.6 miles)

April 27, 2017

This was a tough day. I realize I have started MANY blog posts that way, but truly this was the hardest of goodbyes. I’ve said goodbye to my Camino friends before but this felt different. This felt more permanent.

I started my day at 9:30ish. Woke up slowly and even took a shower! A big “no no” when hiking because a shower can soften your feet and make them prone to blisters. But thankfully I had pleanty of time to let my feet dry out.

I went to breakfast with Sebastian and Michel since I refused to say goodbye to either of them the night before. Both of them brought a lot of light into my Camino, to say it was hard to say goodbye would be an understatement.

First I said goodbye to Sebastian. He really helped me in the Meseta, via Facebook messenger. Helped provide me with questions to ask myself in order to better understand why I was feeling so “sad.” He also brought a lot of laughter to my days. He has a sense of humor like a couple of my friends back home (Dave, Vanna, and Jan.) it was nice to feel my friends from home through his sense of humor!

And then Michel, my little brother. What a difficult goodbye. He was by far my closest male friend on the Camino- hence why I call him my brother. My closest girl friend was Stephanie from Canada who left in Burgos. Even though I connected with many other people, these two became my brother and sister. I remember saying goodbye to Michel in slow motion. Giving him a hug, holding back my tears, and letting go of his hand as I said “Buen Camino” one last time. I immediately turned away and started crying my eyes out. Much the same as when I said goodbye to Stephanie.

The rest of the day felt so off. I felt like I had forgotten something the entire day, obviously I know I was just missing my friends. Everything felt off, knowing I probably wouldn’t run into anyone I knew (only 3 people I knew were going to the coast.) I was in shock the entire day.

The day just go worse and worse. I was so down I didn’t even want to eat. And for those who know me, at least while I’m hiking, I am always eating. I managed to eat some spaghetti but could barely even finish it. Saved me some money though, still can’t believe only 1 course will cost €4-5.

I decided I would go to bed early, was laying down by 8:30. I watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother on my phone. It helped make me feel closer to Michel as he and I would reference that show all the time. It helped “rock” me to sleep. I do miss TV, not going to lie haha!

The next day would be 33.3km, so I would need all the rest I could get!

Cheers!