Via Podiensis – Day 12 (Conques)

Via Podiensis – Day 12 (Conques)

[Music] Everyone raring to go. This is Cindy and Monica’s last day. Last day is the four chicks in a go. [Music] My god, that woman never sleeps. I know. [Music] Good morning. It is day 12 and this is the last day with Cindy and Monica and we’re heading to Conch. Yesterday was somewhere between 27 and 28 kilometers. So that was absolutely exhausting and much longer than we expected it to be. Today is half that. It’s 12 kilometers and we can check in at two. Um so we’re we’re checking in at two separate places this time. It’s just Nina, Linda, and myself at the Abbey and then Cindy and Monica at an Airbnb. And then we’ll meet together for dinner later. Anyway, it should be fairly easy day. It’s always hard to make that call. It rained earlier for about an hour, so I don’t know if that’s ultimately going to affect the state of the trail. Hopefully, we’re not dealing with a lot of slippery mud, but we’ll see. So, as far as I’m concerned right now, this is going to be an easy day, and I’m going to keep that in my head until it’s not. [Music] Stay. Yeah. [Music] significantly less kilometer each day. These are the signs that we’re looking for or a variation on them. Uh some of them are just painted on rocks. That’s how we know we’re going the right way. And when it’s the wrong way, there’s usually an X and it’s usually a particular color. But because I’m color blind, I I would be lost without other people. Our [Music] first water break. Yay. So exciting. And the anticipation of second breakfast in the town right here. That will get us there. Cafe. Awesome. The name of the restaurant chocolate pan or chakot fair. [Music] Yeah. Sorry. [Music] Whether I walk a 12 km day or a 27 km day, there really is not a lot of difference because my body and mind are expecting whatever we’ve planned for. On a short day, we still arrive tired and ready to be done. If it’s a long day, that same distance will only be a fraction of the journey. So, my brain has not signal to my body to be tired. Funny how that works. [Music] Gosh. 3.5 km, folks. What? Yeah. Sweet. He came at me, man. This is a good day for me personally with my blister to have a short day. As exciting as it was to only have 1 and a half km to go, the Camino provided, but this time not in a good way. It came in the form of a punishing downhill kilometer of steep and uneven wash. Nina aptly described it as technical, rocky, and knee popping. Believe me, the images here do not do it justice. One wrong move and this adventure would be over. Kunk is a beautiful medieval town built on a hillside. The narrow streets are unable to accommodate buses or large vehicles, so most visitors enter on foot. Perfectly fitting for a pilgrim. The name conchk is also fitting as it means shell, which is the symbol used all along the Camino de Santiago. Our arrival in town also signaled the end of our journey with Cindy and Monica. While we were staying the night at the Abbey, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, by the way, Cindy and Monica were staying at a private Airbnb. We met up with them later for a farewell dinner. [Music] And then there were three

Day 12 (April 12, 2025) – Espreyac to Conques. Today was the last walking day for Cindy and Monica and that was on our minds as we walked today. We started off giddy that we had a short, 12-kilometer day, and ended up grateful that we all arrived with our knees and limbs intact.