Décimo día - domingo el 25 del mayo
We were planning to get off fairly early this morning, anyway, but with all the bustle in the albergue by 06:00, no other plan would have worked. We were out the door and underway at 07:00. The walk today was extremely pleasant, large portions of it lying through forest, the trails very wide and covered with humus. Here's a fun test for you longsuffering readers: which way would you have gone? In spite of Stanley's ankle's giving him some problems, we still made good time - about 4 km/hr, stopping every 10 km or so for a short rest. The albergues in this last stage are 20 km and 5 km from Santiago, too far and too close, respectively, so we chose to stay in a hotel in Lavacolla, 11 km out. That choice allowed us to walk into Santiago in the morning rather than late in the afternoon.
Around noon, we crossed into Santiago's administrative district (I don't know what they call these divisions), and we knew we were close. We got to Lavacolla ("wash your bottom" - apparently a medieval practice - or ordinance - for pilgrims nearing the end of their pilgrimage) about 14:30, where we found a hotel, bathed, and lay down for a nice Sunday afternoon nap. Later, I sat out in the sun and visited with Brian for a while. Stanley stayed off his feet to help his ankle recuperate.
The walk today was as long as any we have made recently, but between our being close to the goal and being in better shape, and the way being fairly level, this felt like one of our easier days.
Today's walk: 28 km (17 mi). Ten-day total: 292 km (181 mi).
