Forgetting My Sticks

I forgot my trekking poles at the albergue one morning, so I had to walk back through town as all of the other pilgrims were setting out. The yellow arrows provide a very clear one-directional guide, and pilgrims are uncomfortable when that path is not followed. I only had to walk about a quarter of a mile, but I had 6 or 7 conversations (probably in as many languages) about what I was doing.

Once I was walking with a repeat pilgrim who had planned to walk back to his home from Santiago and said he couldn´t bear the idea of waving to hundreds of people, so he flew home.