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Excellent post... I felt exactly the same when I stayed in Gite Beilari in 2016... at one point they had us throwing an imaginary ball from one pilgrim to another... in 2021 I stayed in Gite Makila across the street from Beilari, all very relaxed and no forced participation.
Hoka Speedgoat 4... I've worn these on my last 2 caminos and they are Fantastic... They are like walking on air... No, I don't carry a second pair, for evenings I wear sandals... great to air the feet after a day of walking.
My preference after walking several Caminos is to wear Trail Runners... Hiking shoes can be rigid and hard, with the various surface types you will encounter, in my opinion trail runners with good cushioning are ideal and require no breaking in... My recent trail runners are Hokas... I also wear...
Not sure why you are being advised against walking via Samos??? I walked from Triacastela to Sarria last year via Samos and found it to be a beautiful peaceful woodland walk. Samos itself is a lovely stop with great bars/cafes and the wonderful monastery.
Absolutely loving your updates… especially this sentence… “He could only talk about himself, and I couldn’t bring myself to give him the stage that he desperately wanted to perform on.” I must remember this for future situations.
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