Despite having a nice single bed instead of a bunk, I was awake from 1am until 6am.

I was uncomfortably itchy from mosquito bites on my feet and also very hot. Plus, the American lady across the room from me was actually a surprisingly loud snorer.

However I managed to get some admin done…such as checking in for our return flights and fine-tuning some programming for David’s memorial concert next month. I also made a fun plan to see my dear friend and inspiration, Natalie Haas (and Chuchi) in Santiago next week!

We went for breakfast across the road at Café Forte. There weren’t many customers, so it amused me that our sweet waiter basically ran from station to station, because he was in such a hurry to attend to each customer.

We left the cafe at 8:40am.

With only 17K to do today, it felt like a luxury. It was also a relief to have our accommodation booked for tonight, and so good not to rush our last days before Santiago.

The main church in the square was actually open, so we went in and Hamish got his first taste of the wonderfully repetitive, cyclical chanting of the local congregation which I have only witnessed here in Spain…mesmerising stuff.

Suddenly, it really feels like a highway of pilgrims…big tour groups are apparent, generally having their packs taken for them by minibus each day… and there is a long and steady stream of pilgrims for as far as the eye can see.

The new pilgrims are queueing outside all the places where you can receive a stamp, as they need to try and catch up on the stamp collection to receive their Compostela.

We did get one from the main square in Melide, but haven’t bothered with the queues at various cafés offering stamps along the way.

After 3k there is a variant route which we take, in the hope that it will involve less tarmac and be more scenic. Also perhaps fewer pilgrims, with it not being the main Camino route. The group of 20 Irish folk opt for the variant along with us.

Hamish loves to chat, so he is away off with the Irish folk.

I’m so delighted that he is happy, and as it’s now an uphill, I just allow myself to trail behind at a gentle pace.

It’s a drizzly morning with a lot of uphill, so it’s on and off with the rain jackets to maintain body temperature.

Lots of eucalyptus trees here… the smells are amazing and it looks like a Jurassic jungle, but their presence always instils a sense of despair and worry about the damage they do to the eco culture of this beautiful landscape.

Walking through the seemingly endless drizzle, amongst the never-ending stream of pilgrims, inspired us create a new game called Pilgrim Bingo, which kept us laughing and occupied for the rest of the day.

The rules are simple. Each collects points according to who spots the point-wielding pilgrim.

1 for a staff (wooden)

2 for a pair (matching couple)

3 for walking wounded

4 for a matching family

Freeloader is a 5…

We added

8, carrying weight

9, canine (pilgrim dog)

But couldn’t quite find the perfect 6, 7 and 10…

This all gets chanted in a 2/4 March rhythm.

By the end of the day the score was 46/21 to me.