I´m in Palas del Rei and have a mission to get to Santiago for the 12pm Mass. It will be a push, but I think I can do it. Sunday is the botafumiero day. I am walking with two amercan guys in their 60s (both optometrists and old friends from college) and a german IT guy. They´re super nice and funny. They´re actually the first guys I´ve walked with the whole trip.

Gary is from So Cal, Scott is from Indiana, I can´t remember where Matthias is from in Germany. They all walk about my speed and really helped me stay focused for the long walk today — my longest yet — 24km. Yesterday we stayed in this AWESOME albergue with a patio and a view over a lake. We got snacks and a bottle of wine and just shot the breeze all afternoon in the sunshine after eating a great pilgrim dinner. This makes up for the long sloggy rainy days that make me feel like giving up, don´t you think?

I´m planning to stay in Santiago for a night or two and then walk to Finisterre — probably solo, which will be a welcome change. I actually think I´m more excited about Finisterre than I am about Santiago. Seeing the ocean will be a moving experience to say the least.