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Day 46 - Camino Francés: Arzua to O Pedrouzo · WCBH

• 0:25
  Good morning, it's day 46, it's the penultimate day, 20 kilometres from Azua to Opa-Druzzo.
• 0:33
  It's a wet day, looks like this rain has set in for the day,
• 0:37
  so another test that's been thrown at us.
• 0:40
  Last night, our building continued to shake every time a truck went past,
• 0:45
  made it for an interrupted night of sleep.
• 0:48
  But anyway, we're up, we're on the trail, 20 kilometres to go today,
• 0:53
  and then 20 kilometres to go tomorrow.
• 0:56
  So we're here at O'Prodruzzo, 20 kilometres left to go until the finish line,
• 1:03
  until we make it to St. James Cathedral.
• 1:06
  A wet, cold day, really, because of the weather.
• 1:11
  I just wanted to get those kilometres done today. We did stop at around about,
• 1:17
  at the 12-kilometre mark.
• 1:19
  We timed it quite well where we did sort of 12 kilometres,
• 1:23
  stopped and had lunch a hamburger and then
• 1:27
  we'd broken the back of the day so we had
• 1:30
  eight kilometers to go and we thought we might walk for about sort of five or
• 1:33
  six and have a break but in the end we just we just powered on because we're
• 1:38
  all a bit wet and cold you know wet socks and the water had snuck through your
• 1:42
  rain jacket into your shirt and all of that so it was nice to to get to our
• 1:47
  accommodation and a beautiful,
• 1:48
  a beautiful unit with bay windows,
• 1:52
  lots and lots of natural light that comes through. Nice hot shower.
• 1:56
  Nice to get to the accommodation this afternoon and have a, have a hot shower. So one day to go.
• 2:03
  I hadn't shaved since we left Darwin, which was, what, 21st of February.
• 2:10
  Until yesterday, I had to do something on Zoom. So what was yesterday, the 13th of April.
• 2:17
  So I required a pack of razors to get through all of that.
• 2:20
  But that's done. And I'm looking forward to a haircut, possibly tomorrow or
• 2:26
  the day after when we're in Santiago.
• 2:29
  But with one day to go, how are you feeling? You're just feeling like you just want to get it done?
• 2:35
  I do, but I was getting really excited this afternoon, particularly when the
• 2:39
  way markers were showing the distance as we're coming down below 20.
• 2:44
  It was getting really exciting and it was wet and cold and I thought at the
• 2:51
  start of the day I was like, yeah, I just want to finish this out, but I'm excited today.
• 2:55
  I don't know what it is. Maybe because the rain lifted a little bit towards
• 2:59
  the end. at the start of the day. I was like, just need to get this done.
• 3:03
  But I think the weather really does impact your mood and how you feel during
• 3:08
  the day. I'm excited for tomorrow.
• 3:10
  I'm excited that we'll make it to St. James and that it'll be a huge accomplishment.
• 3:15
  And I am looking forward to, you know, we were speaking today,
• 3:19
  do we get up really early?
• 3:20
  Almost like Christmas morning, do we get up really early and leave early and get there early?
• 3:25
  But no, we've still got a full day ahead of us tomorrow. but I imagine if we
• 3:30
  can get out the door by 8, 8.30 tomorrow or 9 o'clock, which is our usual,
• 3:36
  maybe 9.30, depending on if we stop for a coffee, we should be getting it to St.
• 3:41
  James probably, what, 3 o'clock in the afternoon, maybe about that time.
• 3:46
  But what's exciting is I thought today was going to be about 2022 and it wasn't.
• 3:52
  And I thought going to Santiago was going to be, oh, we're going to have 2022 as well.
• 3:57
  But it's not, it doesn't sound like much, but it's actually just below. It's around the 1970s.
• 4:02
  18 kilometre mark. Yeah, we left with the way marker showing 38 today,
• 4:06
  and I think it's at about 18 now, so just under 20.
• 4:12
  When we get there, what are you going to do? Well, I was thinking about that.
• 4:18
  I think to finish, it's a bit like a kid. You've got to touch the cathedral.
• 4:22
  We're all going to touch the cathedral.
• 4:24
  Go in and say a prayer. We've done that in many of the churches.
• 4:27
  But I would like to stand outside and just see the pilgrims come through and see who we recognize.
• 4:34
  There are a few people that started in Saria that we've seen each day and we
• 4:38
  said hello to, which has been nice. But people from way back,
• 4:41
  are they, you know, behind us or in front?
• 4:44
  Because last time we did that, we saw, we had an Italian family that came through
• 4:48
  the day after us and we enjoyed, you know, just seeing the joy in their faces as they came through.
• 4:54
  So I'd like to do that as well. I hope it's sunny so we can sort of bask in
• 4:58
  some sun out the front of the cathedral.
• 5:01
  I'm planning to throw out a lot of gear. The shoes, gone.
• 5:05
  The socks that I've been wearing, they've been washing, but I've been wearing
• 5:08
  a fair amount. I think they're gone.
• 5:10
  I've got a whole, a whole stick's gone, a whole range of things. Gloves gone?
• 5:18
  One set of gloves, the big gloves, the running gloves I'll keep.
• 5:22
  It could be cooler, cold in Madrid. But yeah, I plan to jettison a lot of, first aid kit gone.
• 5:29
  My backpack gone. It wet me today.
• 5:33
  It's done two trips to the Camino, so it's gone. Is it too early to ask you,
• 5:40
  have you had a Camino epiphany?
• 5:46
  No, I haven't had a Camino epiphany. What has amazed me is, I think you've said
• 5:52
  this many times, is you look at 20 kilometres and you go, yep, that's easy, done.
• 5:57
  And we do it. We're really strong towards the back end, like seven kilometres, bang, we're gone.
• 6:02
  And we keep stride and we get it done. And that's really surprised me.
• 6:07
  The other thing that surprised me is how quickly the kilometers have come down. Like we started at 790.
• 6:13
  And then I think once we reached halfway, it has just flown.
• 6:18
  Tomorrow's day 47, part of me feels like that has flown by really quickly.
• 6:25
  You know, it's not quite 47 different accommodations because you had the odd
• 6:31
  rest day, but it's close to 45, 44 different accommodations.
• 6:36
  44 different days of walking.
• 6:40
  The lowest day being 12 kilometers, I think.
• 6:43
  The biggest day being 25 kilometers. but pretty much every day has been approximately 20 kilometres.
• 6:50
  20 kilometres, that's significant. Like that's nothing to sneeze at.
• 6:56
  That's more than a city to surf.
• 6:58
  And so now we look at 20 kilometres and think, oh, yeah, that's an average day. That will be fine.
• 7:04
  We'll lose all of this conditioning, I'm sure, within a matter of weeks.
• 7:09
  Yeah, but, you know, I think you can surprise yourself of what you're capable of.
• 7:16
  Like there are people around us who are like, oh no, I'm doing 30K,
• 7:19
  this is early on. And we're like, oh wow, you know, that's huge.
• 7:23
  Like you can do the distance if you put your mind to it.
• 7:27
  Yeah, building up the conditioning didn't take too long.
• 7:32
  790 kilometres is so massive, but just that concept of chipping away at it,
• 7:38
  you know, that's obviously worked. It's been interesting how...
• 7:42
  The mind, you know, the psychology behind things where you think,
• 7:46
  oh, it's an easy day, but it actually turns out to be one of the harder days.
• 7:50
  Or like you said just before, 20 kilometers. No, it's not 20, it's only 18.
• 7:55
  And that's going to be, you know, like all those sorts of things.
• 7:59
  The impact of the weather, how your body knows when tomorrow is a rest day.
• 8:04
  You know, it decides to throw in a couple extra little niggles, et cetera.
• 8:09
  I certainly felt my Achilles today.
• 8:11
  My hip took a long time to warm up this morning because it was cold.
• 8:15
  But all those sorts of things. But I think the achievement of just setting your
• 8:22
  mind to something, chipping away at it, and bit by bit we've got there, that's quite amazing.
• 8:28
  Yeah, it is quite amazing. And you're right, the conditioning happens while
• 8:32
  you're on the trail. My feet haven't hurt at all.
• 8:36
  I'm sure tomorrow will start and that's what will happen in the last 5K.
• 8:41
  We'll probably feel everything.
• 8:43
  And I do remember a monster hill tomorrow somewhere.
• 8:48
  Today we had how many hills in a row at the start?
• 8:51
  Yeah, we did have a lot of hills and I think tomorrow there's the JP2 statue
• 8:56
  and, you know, we go up and I think it's quite windy there.
• 9:01
  But touch wood, all of our feet are in remarkably good condition. Mm-hmm.
• 9:07
  We haven't done any serious injury. Had the odd little niggle, but as to be expected.
• 9:14
  So, yeah, fingers crossed we get across tomorrow's line and still in one piece as we are now.
• 9:21
  I do plan to wear my Australian Kangaroos rugby league jersey on the final day.
• 9:27
  Bit of Australianism there.
• 9:29
  Bit of patriotism, yeah. I have an Australian Camino pin that you bought me,
• 9:34
  so I might wear that. And we've seen some people from other countries with their,
• 9:38
  you know, flag, little pins or key rings, things like that.
• 9:44
  Yeah. So looking forward to tomorrow, we'll just take it all in tomorrow.
• 9:49
  And then once it's done, it will be on to relaxing, I suppose.