I am getting there by hook or by crook!

We are so close now and nothing is going to get in our way. We are getting there by hook or by crook. In case you have never heard that term, it is an old English expression meaning that you will reach your goal no matter what.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/dictionary.cambridge.org/amp/english/by-hook-or-by-crook

5/1. Walk to Palas de Re – about 24 KM
Today we left very early (7AM) and walked into the beautiful misty morning. There were only a few people walking at the time. I was happy to leave the albergue early after one of the worst night’s sleep so far. It seemed that some of the recent arrivals to the Camino aren’t that tired. Those of us who have been walking for 30+ days are very used to collapsing on our beds for an hour as soon as we get in, hobbling out for dinner and crashing for the night by 9:00. In fact until today the albergues locked the doors and turned lights off in the rooms at around 9:00 or 9:30. Last night’s room was jam-packed and noisy. People were chatting, reading and coming in and out past midnight.
Anyway our walk today started out very nice but my fatigue set in after a couple of hours. As I slowed down, the large groups passed me and also came up from behind. There are so many people. I ended up needing to take a short nap as Colin had a coffee. I felt a bit better after that.
We got to town around 3:00 and met Monique and Simon in a room we reserved in advance, out of fear of the crowds. We ended up with a nice room. The albergue wasn’t too busy so we managed to have a quiet room with just four of us. Another bonus was that we had a nice dinner and saw our friend who says “Caio Bella”. His name is actually Fausto

5/2 – Today was a tiring day even after a great sleep. We walked 26 KM. The trail was busy early on but it seemed to thin out after 10 km. The rest of the way was peaceful but long. It was another situation where we never saw the town and the last 5KM were very tough for me. We had nice company with Colin and Simon walking ahead and Monique and I at the back. Colin was spared my usual 5km whining but Monique got a good taste of it. She seemed to think it was quite funny. But then again she hadn’t been hearing it for the past 33 days. Only two days until we reach Santiago and that is hard to believe.
I am resting in the bunk bed now as several people come into our room holding their noses. There is a distinct odor of moth balls and cow manure. So far, only three of us have bravely chosen this room. There are 5 empty beds at the moment but people keep arriving. Pretty soon they will have no choice but to come in here. Simon also just found a dead bed bug so we are all scratching in anticipation.
The craziness of finding places to sleep seemed to ease up but we reserved places for the rest of the walk so we are sure we have a bed. We should be arriving in Santiago Friday afternoon. Colin’s brother, Mike, will be joining us on Saturday and walking to Finesterre with us. I am sure he is a fast walker so I should say he will be walking with Colin and I will be dragging myself behind daydreaming of puppies.
As I upload this I can tell you that we never did get bitten by bugs last night. But I will be scratching all day anyway.