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| Leaving the albergue |
The albergue was quiet last night, only four of us, and the hospitalero did not try to rush us out at 8:00, so our day began rather leisurely as we gathered our gear and waited for daylight. We finally got out the door at 9:15. The weather was going to be an issue today, and early indications of rain proved more than accurate. We left with our ponchos on, in what might be considered heavy mist, and fog. The wind at the moment was leaving us alone (but not for long). We set out to walk the road to Alto do Poio, 8.8 kms away. Our plan was to stop there for something to eat, and check the on condition of he Camino path to see if we should join it or stay on the road. Off we went into the mists. Very shortly we could hear the wind raking the ridges above us, but for some topographic quirk the wind couldn't locate us, at least not yet. We pushed on towards our break point, as the rain and wind finally found us. Today was a thoroughly miserable day, full stop. The winds settled into a pattern of 30-35 mph and thank God swung into the south to southwest. This allowed us to take the brunt of today's weather on our left side instead of head on. The rain went from moderate to heavy, and stayed there. As we dropped down in altitude, the snow gradually dissipated, but the rain and wind held steady. We carried on to Biduedo where we had a chance to rejoin the Camino path. We were constantly being rocked off our feet with the gusting winds. We were tired, wet, and dreaming of a hot shower in Triacastela. We decided that we were far enough below the snow level to chance walking the Camino again. We peeled off the road and started down the Camino once again. Very soon we realized that the road still might have been a better option. We dropped down through the snow line, expecting easier going, but to our dismay our world became a study in watercourses. Welcome to Galicia. Suffice it to say, it rained and rained and the water flowed and flowed. We slowly, ever so slowly, made our way carefully down the Camino towards Triacastela. The sounds of moving water dominated everything. Water was flowing down from every imaginable source, merging with other streams, creating deltas, waterfalls, diversions, all things liquid. We splashed, squished, rock hopped, and occasionally plunged our way down the Camino and finally, totally sodden, arrived in Triacastela. Once again, it was a reasonably short day mileage wise (21 kms), but the physical exertion required was disproportionate to the distance covered. We have completed our ablutions, done the laundry, got everything dried, and with a bit of late lunch and the assistance of a bottle of wine, the weather is finally improving (actually I think it is still raining). We are bedded down at the pension Casa David, and licking our wounds after a very challenging day. Off to Sarria tomorrow. Robin assures me that the weather will improve. Peace at last. Eyes are now drooping and the engine is losing steam. Sleep time once gain. A luego.
P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos today, but we were pretty much rigged for heavy weather all day long.
Posted with Blogsy
Wet wet wet indeed. Hope tomorrow is not so bad!
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