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title: Camino Portuguese, Day 0 - Porto to Valença
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draft: false
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publish: true
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tags:
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- hiking
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- portugal
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- spain
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- camino portuguese
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date: 2023-06-26
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---
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Today I left for Valença from Porto by bus, but it was not without a bit of a drama thanks to the extra luggage I accumulated during my short stay in Porto. I had to buy a new pair of shoes because it was raining cats and dogs for the first two days, and the only pair of shoes that I brought with me—my Camino shoes—were soaked wet on the first day when I went to Primavera Sound. I also bought six new books from Llivraria Lello, of which I have no excuse for this one except that I just love books.
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Anyhow, there was no way that I'm taking them all the way to Santiago so I went to look for a left luggage facility around the airport. Well, it turned out the airport's left luggage facility is closed temporarily and I didn't know this, so I had to resort to a facility outside the airport and pay way more than I'd like to. My heart still breaks when I think about how much I paid for it but that's what happens when you make impulsive purchases.
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On my last few trips, I barely planned anything and it panned out great which is why now I'm trying to wing it (by my standards, which still involves quite a lot of planning). This is the first time in a while I felt that my research wasn't as thorough and it came back to bite me.
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![[bulwark.jpg]]
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The bus to Valença only took 1 hour, most of which I spent dozing off. From the bus station, I had to do a little hike to reach the albergue I had booked for the night, situated on the Valença fort. The small hike caught me by surprise, but I took it as a warm-up for the adventures to come.
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![[Field Notes/Images/Camino Portuguese - Day 0/street.jpg]]
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I checked into Hostel Bulwark which I had booked since weeks ago (I can't help it; I'm a hardcore planner), simply because it has a pretty maroon red exterior. When I checked in, almost every bed in the shared room had been occupied. Most people were sleeping, but I also spotted someone who was journaling, and another person who was working on her laptop.
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I knew that I wanted to explore the fort, so after a quick shower I set out my camera and sketchbook. I was hungry, having skipped lunch for the day, but I totally forgot that Spain (and to some extent, maybe Portugal bordering Spain) doesn't really start dinner until 8 and the restaurant I wanted to go to was only open on 8.30. To kill some time, I climbed up the fort and found a nice little spot with a view overlooking the town; a great spot for my first sketch of the camino.
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![[Field Notes/Images/Camino Portuguese - Day 0/sketch.jpg]]
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As dinner time approached, I made my way to the restaurant. Along the Camino, most restaurants offer what is known as the "pilgrim's dinner." Typically, this consists of a two-course meal with dessert and a drink of your choice. Here at the border of Portugal and Spain, something amusing happened during dinner: my brain became entangled in a linguistic web as I expressed gratitude in three different ways—obrigado, gracias, and thank you.
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When I returned to my hostel, I found the lounge bustling with people busy cooking their own meals. It seemed like everyone had already formed connections with one another. Strangely, I wasn't in a sociable mood. I had envisioned this camino as my personal retreat; one of the reasons for embarking on the Camino was to embrace solitude and slow down. But when I looked at people making dinner together and chatting with each other, I wondered: should I make an effort to socialize? Should I introduce myself and engage in conversations? It almost felt like reliving high school, and for a quick moment I struggled with the yearning to belong—something that haven't bugged me in a long time.
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But I remember one oft-repeated advice that I've read when I was looking for info on walking the camino: this is _your_ camino; there is no right or wrong way of doing it.
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I couldn't deny that I simply had no energy left. I headed straight to my bunk bed without even saying a word. As I rested my head on the pillow, I became aware of the weight of tomorrow's camino on my mind. I just realized I didn't even know how to figure out which way to take that will eventually bring me to Santiago. Even if I eventually manage to figure it out, I wasn't sure that I will have the energy to talk to new people. The past year had been difficult for me, and before I left, I decided that by doing the camino, I'm making space for myself to process what had happened in the past year. If it means I'll have to become the hermit peregrina, walking my own camino within my own little world, then so be it.
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title: Camino Portuguese, Day 1 - Valença to O Porriño (21 km)
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draft: false
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publish: true
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tags:
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- hiking
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- spain
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- camino portuguese
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date: 2023-06-27
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---
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First surprise of the camino: I had overslept. Despite my intentions to set an alarm, apparently I had forgotten to do so. It was already around 7:45 when I finally stirred awake, but then again I didn't have my camino morning routine yet. I didn't even know what time is a good time to start the camino, so was I really late to anything anyway?
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This departure from my usual routine unsettled me though, as someone who usually thrives on structure and predictability. Nevertheless, I did my best to adapt: I swiftly brushed my teeth, refreshed my face, and packed my belongings. Breakfast was included in the albergue, so I quickly prepared some toast for myself.
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Before venturing out, I made sure to stamp my Camino credential. I had picked up my Camino credential in Porto a few days before. This credential is necessary if you want to get your _compostella_ once you reach Santiago. They require you to get two stamps per day, and each stamp has to be dated which is how they verify that you have indeed walked the minimum 100 kilometers on the camino.
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Outside, thick grey clouds started to roll in, hinting at the possibility of rain. I tried to see what everyone else was doing: are most people staying in, or do they still go ahead? In reality, most people were actually still having breakfast. I wasn't that late after all. I caught a group of men who stepped out of the albergue, so I decided to follow suit. Not _that_ closely though, because I wanted to start the camino by walking on my own.
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![[bag.jpg]]
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The initial kilometers proved relatively effortless. It didn't rain, but the weather was cool, which to me made a perfect camino start. Valença was still asleep, and it felt like I had the entire town just to myself.
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![[tree.jpg]]
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Remember how worried I was yesterday about how to figure out the camino path? Before I went to sleep, I downloaded the Buen Camino app, which has a map that shows the route for all the Camino routes. I could use it the way I use Google Maps to make sure I stay on the Camino path. But honestly, one could do without the app. One of the ways is to follow the arrows that you can spot on the floor, on the walls, everywhere.
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![[sign.jpg]]
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Exiting the fort itself felt like a mini-adventure, involving a tunnel passage that looked a bit sketchy. Only one other pilgrim followed closely behind, and she seemed as confused as I was. I braved myself to go through the tunnel which led me to the road that would lead me to Tui.
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![[tunnel.jpg]]
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About three kilometers from the fort is the Spain-Portugal border, the very reason I chose Valença over Tui—to cross the border on foot rather than by bus. Yet, the crossing was not as grandiose as anticipated. I didn't realize I had crossed the border until I looked back and saw a big "Portugal" sign behind me.
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I don't remember where I got this advice from, or what is the context exactly, but it says something about when you're walking down the path of somewhere new, don't forget to look back because looking forward and looking backward will give you a different view. And indeed, this advice holds true.
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![[portugal.jpg]]
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![[river.jpg]]
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I continued my stride towards Tui with a newfound confidence: I made it out of the fortress and now I'm in Spain! Mapping and spatial awareness are not my strengths; people who know me and have traveled with me can certainly attest to my ineptitude. So when I successfully reached Tui without a hitch, I thought to myself: well, _I can do this._ However, this was short-lived, as I soon found myself struggling to navigate my way out of the cathedral square. A kind lady who was sweeping the terrace of the police station called out to me. "Camino?" she inquired. "This way!"
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So that's another way to figure out the camino path: get lost, and let a kind soul help you.
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![[horse.jpg]]
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After Tui, it was a long stretch of road until I finally entered my first forest trail. The cool shades of the trees were very much welcomed. A few kilometers into the forest, a humble bridge called Ponte das Febres appeared in front of my eyes. The bridge holds historical significance, as it marks the spot where the Dominican friar Pedro González fell ill with a fever. He abandoned his journey to Santiago and instead made his way back to Tui, where he ultimately passed away. Honoring this event in 1246, the bridge stands as a testament along the pilgrim trail to Compostela.
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I was not alone at the bridge; apparently there was some construction going on. There was a group of people working on the bridge, doing some measuring and polishing. Normally I would have walked past, but it was a perfect spot for a break (this is when I realized that two slices of toasted bread is not enough as a camino breakfast, and yes, on the camino breakfast is important!) and for a sketch.
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It took me about one hour to paint the bridge, which is a normal pace for me, but painting when you're in the middle of walking the camino is different. First, the sun and the heat. When the heat started to penetrate the shaded area where I found my refuge in, I realized that I needed to hurry unless I wanted to spend most of my walking under the scathing sun. Second reason, which is more of a mind game more than anything honestly, is that I would see your fellow pilgrims pass me by and I couldn't help but think that I should keep walking.
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![[Pasted image 20240106101528.png]]
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As I was packing up my belongings, one of the people from the group approached me curiously. She asked me if she can see what I was painting, to which I said yes, of course. After looking at and taking picture of my painting, she introduced herself: her name is Marta, and the group of people who were working on the bridge was actually a team from the government who had spent five years working on restoring this historic bridge. "It's complete now," she said, beaming proudly. I wish my Spanish was good enough for more than basic exchanges—I would have loved to learn more about the restoration process and all the challenges that entailed when you are restoring an old, historic bridge.
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Nevertheless, I was grateful for this chance interaction. It was the first real interaction that I had of the day, other than the occasional "buen camino!" greetings that I exchanged with other fellow pilgrims on the way. I have been sketching for as long as I can remember, and I had always thought about it as a solitary activity until I realized that it has helped me plenty of times to connect with people that I wouldn't have connected with otherwise. This case is the perfect example.
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![[grave.jpg]]
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If I've got to be honest, I wasn't a big fan of the rest of the trail. Once I exited the forest trail, it was road and highway almost all the way to O Porriño. About 2 km before the town, there was an alternative path that would take me to O Porriño through the river instead of the industrial road. I was eager to get out of the highways so I was more than happy to take the path with more nature, despite it being about 2 km longer than the original path.
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![[this-hurts.jpg]]
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I made it to O Porriño at about 4 pm. The albergue that I had booked was right on the Camino path, right after I exited the river trail. Apparently most people had arrived in the albergue a few hours before. The nice lady who was in charge of reception, Lucy, noticed my shoes. "I have the exact same ones! Altra." she exclaimed. "Blue, too." And so we spent the next 10 minutes fangirling over our Altra Lone Peaks.
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Overall it wasn't a perfect day (will there ever be a perfect day? I don't think so). My phone recorded that I walked 30,999 steps - 21.3 km. Overall I felt that the day was OK-ish, but the but I knew that I needed to go easy on myself. It's Day 1 of my first _ever_ Camino, after all. It will get better. And most importantly: I made it to O Porriño!
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Despite it being a just OK day, I learned a lot on my first day:
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First, it's okay to take a break and rest. I rushed myself in the latter portion of the trail... for no reason. I barely took any break except when I was sketching and a few hours later to rehydrate when I found a vending machine. I only had one energy bar for lunch. Why was I rushing? I don't even know! Yes, I only made it at 4 pm, maybe I was slow, and yes most people were already in the albergue, but no one was keeping track, and I wasn't late to anything. I had to remind myself that I didn't have anything else to do for the day except dinner. The only thing that I would be doing on the camino is _walk_. And I will walk again tomorrow.
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Second, everyone does the camino in their own way. Some may want to walk fast, some may want to chill and take it slow, and that's totally okay. For me, I knew early on that I wanted to make at least one painting a day throughout the camino—otherwise I wouldn't have bothered to bring my sketchbook and painting kit with me. It's totally understandable that I would arrive much later than the other pilgrims. (And I repeat: even if I didn't paint, it's okay to walk on my own pace and arrive much later, heck, in the evening, even. It's not a competition!)
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I had this realization on my walk: the camino, in a way, helped me to confirm some of the things that I already know about myself and still need to work on. When I decided to dedicate a week with one simple goal_, to walk to Santiago,_ these issues manifested in the simplest things, which makes it easy to for me to spot and reflect on. I have always known that I have a rather competitive streak (sometimes for the pettiest things, like *cough* reaching the next town in the camino), which explains why I really wanted to get to the next town as quickly as possible even if it's for no reason. My drive to get things done means that I live my life at warp speed... so it's no surprise that I had so much trouble justifying why I needed to take a break.
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I still have a few days left, and if anything, the next few days are the perfect time for me to experiment and see if I can carry over some of the lessons learned to my life outside of the camino.
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---
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title: Camino Portuguese, Day 2 - O Porriño to Redondela (16 km)
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draft: false
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publish: true
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tags:
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- hiking
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- spain
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- camino portuguese
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date: 2023-06-28
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---
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Today was a fairly easy hike for me despite the hills (and boy, there were a lot). Before going to bed, I took notes of my learnings from the first day—both practical lessons and "big life lessons". I will need to take my sweet time to apply the big life lessons, but for the practical lessons, I could experiment with them today and see how it works.
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For the practical camino lessons, I decided to try sleeping for 8 hours but waking up early, which means going to bed by 10 pm and waking up at 6 am. It worked wonders: I got to start my walk in the cool morning while still having ample time for breakfast. And yes I did have breakfast, some sandwich and orange juice that I got from the supermarket the day before. Also it helped that today's walk was quite short, only about 17 km in total. Although shorter, the terrain was more challenging than yesterday's trail. I was in a good mood for the most part though, maybe because I was more prepared and I now knew what to expect.
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![[mirror.jpg]]
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I made a stop at Chapel of Santiaguiño de Antas to refuel and sketch, but I wasn't happy with the sketch that I made. I was rushing not because I wanted to get to Redondela quick, but because I thought it was going to rain and I couldn't bear the thought of walking the next 10 km with wet socks and shoes. I ended up with all the wrong shades... I'm almost embarrassed to post it here, but why not? Not every day is a good sketching day. Good sketching day or good walking day: you can only choose one.
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I was also quite distracted when sketching. My mom asked me what I was doing and I casually told her I was walking from the border of Portugal and Spain to northern Spain. "But you're not alone, right?" she asked. I'm not sure why she was expecting any answer other than an "of course I'm alone", at this point she should have known me better than this, no?
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"Oh my god," she wrote back.
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![[duck.jpg]]
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![[flower.jpg]]
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![[woods.jpg]]
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![[Field Notes/Images/Camino Portuguese - Day 2/dog.jpg]]
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Despite the shorter trail, there was so much more green on today's trail though, and with all the hills you automatically get better views too, so I didn't mind the hike at all.
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I also walked past some small Spanish villages, and when I was walking through them I remember this one time many, many years ago on my first visit in Spain. I was with my late dad, on the regional train to Figueres from Barcelona to go visit the Dalí Theatre-Museum. The train made stops in many small Spanish villages in between. I could only see them from inside of the train, these villages that only seem to house hundreds of people, stretching maybe about three kilometers at maximum, ones that you can walk from one end to another in just half an hour. I told my dad, I wonder how it feels like to get off at one of them, wander around, get on the train only, and get off at the next stop. Repeat.
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We didn't get to do it because we needed to get to Figueres and we were short on time. But roughly 12 years later, I'm doing exactly that, walking from one village to another in rural Spain. Sans dad and the train, but alone, with a 7 kg backpack weighing on my back, walking my own two feet. I'm grateful for the experience just the same.
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![[cross.jpg]]
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I made it to Redondela by 12 pm. It helped that my albergue was right at the entrance of town, but I know I'll have to compensate by walking some extra hundred meters tomorrow. Nevertheless, my Day 1 self would have been ecstatic to know that I made it early, but all I could think about when I got there was: okay, now what?
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The sign hanging on the door of the albergue says that the albergue would only be open by 1 pm, because they were still cleaning the room. And so today I learned that this is the one issue that one will encounter if you arrive way too early: you will have to wait until your albergue is open. There was another woman who had arrived before me, and together we sat on the bench in front of the albergue in the heat. An old man probably in his 60s followed shortly after me, and then another woman who chose to wait it out right in front of the door.
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This albergue, unlike the ones I've stayed in previously, does not have any bunk beds. Instead it has regular beds spread out across the room. It is definitely a step up from last night's albergue; it feels very airy, clean, and is flooded with light.
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You would think that I would feel ecstatic to have ample time for myself. I did have plenty of time to have lunch, do laundry, go to the supermarket to fetch my supplies for dinner and tomorrow's walk, and take a nap. But by 4 pm I already did everything (including the nap!), and I was at a loss of what to do. One option was to venture out and explore the town, but it was so hot and because I already showered, I didn't feel like going out again.
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I spent most of my time in my not-bunk bed, reading R.F. Kuang's _Babel_ that I've been reading this past week. After that, I got distracted and my mind took its sweet time to wander off, not in a good way. I thought about my sketch which I wasn't happy with, and regretted going way too fast this time. I felt a pang of guilt for being too lazy to go out; shouldn't I be out there, exploring every nook and cranny of Redondela like the adventurous person that I aspire to be? Am I missing out by staying in my room? It was a good walking day duration-wise and weather-wise, but emotionally I was feeling really off.
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"The camino gives us what we need," Filipa told me through text when she found out I was doing the camino. I met her on my trip to the Banda Islands last year, when she was doing a round-the-world trip with her friend. "We just need to be aware of it."
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And today, the camino gave me the harsh realization that I have been demanding so much of myself, oftentimes to impossible standards. It was the single thread connecting all of the running thoughts that I had today, and it's something that many loved ones have told me about, but I never believed them until today.
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Let me explain. When I started the camino, my goal was simple: I just want to walk from point A to point B each day, and make it to Santiago as scheduled. I remember I couldn't finish my Inca Trail hike because I got injured on Day 2, so to me, finishing this one would call for a celebration. It seemed like a realistic, yet challenging enough goal for me at the time.
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But when I made it to O Porriño yesterday, I moved the goalpost for myself. It was no longer enough to walk from one town to the next as scheduled, but I told myself that I should make one (good!) sketch per day _on location_, and take good pictures too, which means I need to explore the town as much as possible. Plus, I need to get to the next town at around lunchtime (for what reason? Heck, I don't even know).
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In retrospect, it seems ridiculous, but it was hard to recognize it at the time. I didn't realize that the reason why I felt so weighed down emotionally despite it being a relatively easy day was because I wanted to accomplish so many things at once.
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![[dog-2.jpg]]
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Being aware of it is one thing, making a change is another thing. I take pride of my ability to get things done, so I'm not sure how I'll handle it once I get back from the camino. _Will I actually be able to slow down?_ Do I even want to?
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That will be my problem for when I return to the real world, but I can try to make a change tomorrow. This is also something that I realized today: the camino can be my safe space to experiment with the changes I want to make in my life. When you only have one single main goal in a predetermined timeframe, it removes the myriad distractions that you usually encounter in your life, and it (in theory, at least) should be easier for you to see how you react to the changes and what kind of adjustments you need to make, if any.
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We'll see if tomorrow will be any different.
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---
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title: Camino Portuguese, Day 3 - Redondela to Pontevedra (20 km)
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draft: false
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publish: true
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tags:
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- hiking
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- spain
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- camino portuguese
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date: 2023-06-29
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---
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The camino gives you what you need indeed. Today, I needed a change, and that's exactly what I got.
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Yesterday, I wasn't feeling my best emotionally, so it was a surprise that I woke up with a rather cheery mood. Maybe it's because I had tuned in early the night before, giving me ample rest. I also really anticipated my breakfast: orange juice and a tuna sandwich from what is said to be the best bakery in Redondela. I had managed to establish a morning routine that worked for me. I even figured out a clever system to organize my belongings on the bedside table. I divided the space into three sections: one for my electronics like my phone, camera, and charger, another for toiletries, and the last one reserved for my clothes for the following day. This simple organization brought about a remarkable shift in my mood. That made a world of difference to my mood.
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![[DSCF2773.jpg]]
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It was a good start of the day indeed, and like a chain reaction, I started looking forward to the walk. Not particularly to the next destination, but the walk itself. Isn't that the essence of the camino anyway?
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And so I left Redondela with a newfound sense of calmness.
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![[DSCF2776.jpg]]
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To get out of the city, I had to pass by some more industrial area and the dreaded highway. But instead of being annoyed like how what I felt on my first day on my way to O Porriño, I remained calm. I knew that soon, maybe in a few kilometers, I would find myself in a charming Spanish village or a forest trail that I would love.
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Before long, I settled into my own rhythm. Pilgrims passing me by no longer phased me; yesterday taught me that I could walk swiftly if I want to. But this time, I chose to be deliberate with my pace. I fully realize that I'm not competing with anyone here and no one is keeping track.
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I was at peace with whatever I had at the time, and that helped me to be truly present for the first time in the camino. I wasn't thinking about other people or the next town. I took the time to look around me and mentally take note of what I saw along the way:the first railway crossing I encountered on the Camino, the breathtaking coastal vistas, the intriguing stickers adorning lamp posts—an mysterious QR code leading to a Camino app and a sticker of a Camino podcast (of course there's a podcast for everything!). Writings and graffitis.
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![[view.jpg]]
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![[railway.jpg]]
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![[DSCF2790.jpg]]
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Somewhere along the way, the reality that _yes, I'm really doing the camino_, really sunk with me. I had always wanted to walk the camino since I first heard about it years ago, but in my head at the time, it seemed to be one of those things that I would only get to do once I retire. When I finalized my Primavera Sound Porto plan, I knew that I had to squeeze this camino into the trip somehow. Yesterday I talked about how my relentless drive to accomplish things can be draining, but one delightful byproduct of that trait is that I do make my dreams a reality.
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![[DSCF2792.jpg]]
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![[DSCF2795.jpg]]
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When I walked uphill and was rewarded with a view of the coast, I could tell that this was my favorite camino day so far. I was alone most of the time too. Though small groups of pilgrims occasionally formed around me, I managed my pace to create moments of solitude.
|
||||
|
||||
As I descended from the hill, I noticed a large rock by the roadside—a perfect spot for a break and, perhaps, a brief sketching session. Initially, I walked past it, but then I realized that I love this part of the trail so much. Along the way, I captured numerous photographs, even a video, and, in an unprecedented move for me on the Camino, took a selfie. I wanted to remember this trail and _being_ in this trail. Yet, what better way to record this moment than through sketching?
|
||||
|
||||
Of course, you can take pictures, which is what I had done up until that point. And I love it! Photography is another passion of mine, otherwise I wouldn't have carried my camera with me all the way to Santiago. But when you only take a photograph of a place, it's easy to just get it done and move on. Sketching, on the other hand, demands time which indeed is a luxury when you're traveling (or walking the camino, for that matter ;)). Yet, in exchange, it grants you the opportunity to fully absorb your surroundings—the weather, the atmosphere—and to just... be. My sketching endeavors have definitely given me the most vibrant and enduring memories.
|
||||
|
||||
I retraced my steps and returned to the big rock. I took out my chocolate energy bar, my sketchbook, my painting kit, and started sketching away.
|
||||
|
||||
More pilgrims started to roll in: a mix of solo walkers, couples, small groups, and even larger groups, seemingly students on an educational excursion. Unfortunately, the serenity of the moment was interrupted by one of them playing a song on an external speaker, slightly dampening the atmosphere. Nonetheless...
|
||||
|
||||
There were lot of new faces on the trail that I haven't seen before, maybe because on my first day I was too late and on my second day I was too early. Redondela was also the town where the Central and Coastal route converged, so a lot of these new faces probably walked the Coastal route, which is why I didn't see them before. Some greeted me with a "buen camino" as they walked past. A few stopped by to see what I was sketching. A group of elderly gentlemen who stayed in the same albergue as I did in Valença also stopped by and they started making poses. At first I didn't get what they were trying to do, but when one of them said, "draw us! We'll be your models!" we all broke into laughter.
|
||||
|
||||
I continued walking, thinking that I would not stop because I already had my break. But when I came across a beautiful bridge with a bench, I couldn't help it but put down my backpack... and start sketching again.
|
||||
|
||||
I decided to stop when the sun came out. It was already 10 am and I knew that if I wanted to make it to Pontevedra without getting burned, I needed to continue walking and amp up my pace a little bit.
|
||||
|
||||
![[DSCF2816.jpg]]
|
||||
|
||||
The rest of the trail was a blur, honestly. It was mostly one village after another, and I remember I got confused at one point because the arrows weren't clear, my Buen Camino app was showing a different way than the arrow (this has happened a few times), and people were going in different ways.
|
||||
|
||||
What started as a rather chill walk turned into a slog rather quickly, but I knew it was mainly because of the heat. I just wanted to get to Pontevedra as fast as possible, put down my backpack, shower, and sleep. Annoyingly, there were quite a few hills to conquer too, which I didn't expect. I thought we would be done with hills by Day 2, but Day 3 was not much different, and the heat wasn't helping. And unlike Day 2, this time I could really feel my backpack weighing down on me as I struggled to make my way up to hill.
|
||||
|
||||
Despite the hills, I actually encountered many pleasant surprises along the way. In one of the forest trails, I came across a guy who set up a shop. He had a table of souvenirs, and some benches, and some pay-as-you-wish mineral water. I was running low on my water reserve, so I decided to restock and take a break. I was just so exhausted.
|
||||
|
||||
I don't remember much about what we talked about—some pleasant small talks—but I remember he talked about his forest friend: the bird. "He would poop on everyone, but not me!" he said, laughing so loudly you can hear it echo in the forest, as he fed the bird with some food that he had with him. He also told me about the alternative route that I should take. Three kilometers before Pontevedra, the camino would branch into two different routes: one that is shorter, but goes through the industrial area, and another one that is longer but takes you through the river. He insisted that I should take the river one. "It's perfect!" he said, imitating a chef's kiss gesture.
|
||||
|
||||
As I prepared to leave to continue my journey, he wished me a buen camino, and said with a big smile: "remember, this life is the moment!"
|
||||
|
||||
I was taken aback because what he said brought me back to my walk this morning instantly. The slog had distracted me away from being present, because all I could think about now was getting to Pontevedra. And the camino gave me quite a _literal_ reminder to stay in the present.
|
||||
|
||||
But boy oh boy let me tell you: it was hard. I knew that this life is the moment but hiking one hill after another in the heat with my backpack weighing down on me was not really a moment I wanted to enjoy and take in.
|
||||
|
||||
![[DSCF2823.jpg]]
|
||||
|
||||
"Buen camino," I heard someone say. I thought she was saying it to someone else, but then I saw she was walking to my left. I greeted back with all the voice and energy I could muster, which wasn't a lot. "Are you tired?" she asked.
|
||||
|
||||
I said, "yeah, I am tired. It's the heat. It would have been much easier without the heat."
|
||||
|
||||
At first I thought she would walk away from me, but we ended up sticking together. We walked a similar relaxed pace: I was tired and she had blisters from yesterday's walk so she couldn't walk fast.
|
||||
|
||||
This is the first time I walked the camino with someone else, and while at first I thought I would have a hard time adjusting to it because I was used to walking alone, it turned out to be nice. It made me forget about how hot the weather is and how the hills seemed never-ending; it kept me in the present, because instead of thinking about how there were barely any shades in this part of the trail while the sun was right above me, I got to listen to her talk. She told me that is from Mallorca and she started the camino in Vigo.
|
||||
|
||||
We walked past a food truck tucked away in this spot in the forest trail. It was the first food truck that I had seen in the camino. They also set up quite a lot seats. I wish I had taken a picture, because I swear it was the coziest rest area I had ever seen in the camino so far. "Do you want to take a break here?" she asked.
|
||||
|
||||
I thought about it for a moment. I had taken two breaks, well, three breaks today including the brief stop in the forest. Do I need another break? My first instinct was to keep walking. But then again, the camino is a good opportunity to experiment and maybe do things you wouldn't otherwise do. Plus, chatting with my new friend while drinking fresh orange juice is not a bad alternative route at all.
|
||||
|
||||
And so we spent about half an hour drinking fresh orange juice and talking about why I did the camino. For me, it was to learn how to slow down. For her, she wanted to learn how to be alone; she was always with someone, she said, and she had walked the Camino from Finisterre to Santiago with her boyfriend last year. This time, she wanted to do it alone.
|
||||
|
||||
The rest of the trail wasn't that interesting. Lots of ups and downs but without the pretty views. We spent the entire time talking about our family, how we both didn't have TikTok, and the kinds of art we do—she takes analog pictures and makes ceramics. I wasn't surprised; I often found myself drawn to art-inclined people, so it's no surprise that I found it easy to connect with her.
|
||||
|
||||
We were both just so over the walk, and to cheer her (and myself) up I told her about the river path that the guy earlier told me about. "Two more kilometers until the river," I would say. I knew that after the river, we still had three kilometers to go, but two kilometers is easier to accept than two plus three kilometers. It was helpful to have something to look forward to.
|
||||
|
||||
![[DSCF2824.jpg]]
|
||||
|
||||
We made it to the river, and the alternate route truly did not disappoint:
|
||||
|
||||
![[DSCF2828.jpg]]
|
||||
|
||||
Halfway through the river trail, she told me that she wanted to take a break because her feet were hurting. "It's okay if you want to go ahead," she said. We exchanged numbers, and this is when we both realized that we don't know each other's names; her name is Paula. We planned to meet up once we get to Pontevedra, but then I decided to stay. It was already 3 pm, but yesterday I had no idea what to do anyway. I started to think maybe it would be better to spend longer time on the trail, either by slowing down or walking longer days.
|
||||
|
||||
We found ourselves a picnic table, put down our backpack, ate our snacks. Paula also spent some time to tend to her blisters.
|
||||
|
||||
![[DSCF2833.jpg]]
|
||||
|
||||
![[DSCF2836.jpg]]
|
||||
|
||||
The walk into Pontevedra felt very, very long. Paula's albergue was in the entrance to town, while mine was further into town, so we split up and decided to meet up for dinner later at a pulperia in the old town area. Once I got to my albergue, it was already 16:30. The hospitalero welcomed me inside and as he showed me to my room, he asked me if I was tired.
|
||||
|
||||
I shook my head. It has been a long day, yes, but it was my most fulfilling camino walk yet, and I was feeling anything _but_ tired. "I'm feeling fantastic," I told him. I really, really am.
|
||||
|
||||
![[DSCF2839.jpg]]
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
publish: true
|
||||
---
|
||||
%% update via "Update Publish Files" template %%
|
||||
|
||||
| File | Author | Cover | Category |
|
||||
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
|
||||
| [[Reading/White Ivy.md\|White Ivy]] | Susie Yang |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/When We Cease to Understand the World.md\|When We Cease to Understand the World]] | Benjamín Labatut |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.md\|What I Talk About When I Talk About Running]] | Haruki Murakami |  | Biography & Autobiography |
|
||||
| [[Reading/We Are the Brennans.md\|We Are the Brennans]] | Tracey Lange |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/We Are Bellingcat.md\|We Are Bellingcat]] | Eliot Higgins |  | Political Science |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Version Control.md\|Version Control]] | Dexter Palmer |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/These Precious Days.md\|These Precious Days]] | Ann Patchett |  | Biography & Autobiography |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Swimmers.md\|The Swimmers]] | Julie Otsuka |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Sixth Extinction.md\|The Sixth Extinction]] | Elizabeth Kolbert |  | Nature |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Sentence.md\|The Sentence]] | Louise Erdrich |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Portrait of a Mirror.md\|The Portrait of a Mirror]] | A. Natasha Joukovsky |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Love Hypothesis.md\|The Love Hypothesis]] | Ali Hazelwood |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Candy House.md\|The Candy House]] | Jennifer Egan |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Sea of Tranquility.md\|Sea of Tranquility]] | Emily St. John Mandel |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Olga Dies Dreaming.md\|Olga Dies Dreaming]] | Xochitl Gonzalez |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Oh William!.md\|Oh William!]] | Elizabeth Strout |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Notes on an Execution.md\|Notes on an Execution]] | Danya Kukafka |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/It Ends with Us.md\|It Ends with Us]] | Colleen Hoover |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Intimacies.md\|Intimacies]] | Katie Kitamura |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/In the Margins.md\|In the Margins]] | Elena Ferrante |  | Biography & Autobiography |
|
||||
| [[Reading/If I Had Your Face.md\|If I Had Your Face]] | Frances Cha |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/How High We Go in the Dark.md\|How High We Go in the Dark]] | Sequoia Nagamatsu |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Five Total Strangers.md\|Five Total Strangers]] | Natalie D. Richards |  | Young Adult Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Everything I Know about Love.md\|Everything I Know about Love]] | Dolly Alderton |  | Biography & Autobiography |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Days of Distraction.md\|Days of Distraction]] | Alexandra Chang |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Cover Story.md\|Cover Story]] | Susan Rigetti |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Convenience Store Woman.md\|Convenience Store Woman]] | Sayaka Murata |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Cleopatra and Frankenstein.md\|Cleopatra and Frankenstein]] | Coco Mellors |  | \- |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Chemistry.md\|Chemistry]] | Weike Wang |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Billion Dollar Whale.md\|Billion Dollar Whale]] | Tom Wright, Bradley Hope |  | Business & Economics |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Arriving Today.md\|Arriving Today]] | Christopher Mims |  | Business & Economics |
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
publish: true
|
||||
---
|
||||
%% update via "Update Publish Files" template %%
|
||||
|
||||
| File | Author | Cover | Category |
|
||||
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Yellowface.md\|Yellowface]] | Rebecca F Kuang |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/User Friendly.md\|User Friendly]] | Cliff Kuang, Robert Fabricant |  | Design |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Trust.md\|Trust]] | Hernán Diaz |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Emperor of All Maladies.md\|The Emperor of All Maladies]] | Siddhartha Mukherjee |  | History |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Strangers to Ourselves.md\|Strangers to Ourselves]] | Rachel Aviv |  | Psychology |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Stolen Focus.md\|Stolen Focus]] | Johann Hari |  | Family & Relationships |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Remarkably Bright Creatures.md\|Remarkably Bright Creatures]] | Shelby Van Pelt |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Our Women on the Ground.md\|Our Women on the Ground]] | Zahra Hankir |  | Literary Collections |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Our Share of Night.md\|Our Share of Night]] | Mariana Enriquez |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Novelist as a Vocation.md\|Novelist as a Vocation]] | Haruki Murakami |  | Language Arts & Disciplines |
|
||||
| [[Reading/My Fourth Time, We Drowned.md\|My Fourth Time, We Drowned]] | Sally Hayden |  | Political Science |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Merchants of Doubt.md\|Merchants of Doubt]] | Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway |  | Technology & Engineering |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Lessons in Chemistry.md\|Lessons in Chemistry]] | Bonnie Garmus |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Greek Lessons.md\|Greek Lessons]] | Han Kang |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Four Thousand Weeks.md\|Four Thousand Weeks]] | Oliver Burkeman |  | Self-Help |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Enter Ghost.md\|Enter Ghost]] | Isabella Hammad |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Doppelganger.md\|Doppelganger]] | Naomi Klein |  | Biography & Autobiography |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Cultish.md\|Cultish]] | Amanda Montell |  | Language Arts & Disciplines |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Babel.md\|Babel]] | R. F. Kuang |  | Fiction |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Myth of Artificial Intelligence.md\|The Myth of Artificial Intelligence]] | Erik J. Larson |  | Computers |
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
publish: true
|
||||
---
|
||||
%% update via "Update Publish Files" template %%
|
||||
|
||||
| File | Author | Cover | Category |
|
||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------- |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Crafting Interpreters.md\|Crafting Interpreters]] | Robert Nystrom |  | Computers |
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
publish: true
|
||||
---
|
||||
%% update via "Update Publish Files" template %%
|
||||
|
||||
| File | Author | Cover | Category |
|
||||
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Song of the Cell.md\|The Song of the Cell]] | Siddhartha Mukherjee |  | Medical |
|
||||
| [[Reading/The Earth Transformed.md\|The Earth Transformed]] | Peter Frankopan |  | History |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Road to Nowhere.md\|Road to Nowhere]] | Paris Marx |  | Social Science |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Frantumaglia.md\|Frantumaglia]] | Elena Ferrante |  | Biography & Autobiography |
|
||||
| [[Reading/Bullshit Jobs.md\|Bullshit Jobs]] | David Graeber |  | Business & Economics |
|
||||
|
|
@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
|
|||
---
|
||||
title: index
|
||||
publish: true
|
||||
draft: false
|
||||
date: 2023-12-28
|
||||
---
|
||||
**about —**
|
||||
This website is my public notebook spanning multiple interests of mine. I enjoy collecting experiences & knowledge, & I’m mostly driven by a boundless (and sometimes foolish) curiosity & desire to make sense of the world so that I can solve the problems that I’m interested in. The dots might not connect now, but I believe (or hope) that someday they will.
|
||||
|
||||
_This website is in progress, so you may find broken links here and there._
|
||||
|
||||
**navigation —**
|
||||
- [Writings](/Posts/): reasonably complete thinking outputs.
|
||||
- [Field Notes](/Field-Notes//): records of observations and experiences, a collection of journals of sorts. Mostly travel related, but not always.
|
||||
- [Notes](): ideas, things I learned, mostly early-stage.
|
||||
|
||||
**whoami —**
|
||||
she/her. I'm based in Berlin, having previously lived in Singapore & Jakarta. I currently work as a machine learning engineer, but my broad curiosity drives me to explore and do a lot of other things!
|
||||
|
||||
- [[Community volunteering & outreach]]
|
||||
- [[Computer science & open source work]]
|
||||
- [[Creative projects & hobbies]]
|
||||
- [[Posts/Other interests]]
|
||||
- [[Posts/Publications & conferences]]
|
||||
|
||||
**contact —**
|
||||
mail[at]velouria.dev
|
||||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue