Beautiful walk today only overshadowed slightly by overshooting our Albergue.  We climbed up to the top of the steps and asked directions.  However worked out because there are no restaurants near the Albergue  we had brunch and retraced some steps crossing back over the long bridge and found the Albergue.  Its very nice and the young girls running it try hard to speak English.

There were some ups and downs today and i was getting tired tiward the end

Arose early and wandered to the inn next door which has a restaurant and a swimming pool.  We sat around the pool with Steve and Sarah from Perth sipping sangria and later had dinner with them.  This morning i said goodbye to just about everyone ive met on the Camino as all seem to be partaking of breakfast at the same time.   But what a lot of Pilgrims!  There seemed to

be a constant swarm of them and im sure it will be more of the same as we head out tomorrow

Shed opened for refreshments

 

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A pleasant walk down a 20km mountainside although it started with some significant hill climbs that got the heart pumping quickly.  I dumped a water container early to lighten the load but i was able to take multiple rest stops waiting for Steve who kept the same pace all morning.  Leaving at 7 we walked until 10 to have breakfast and then stopped at 1130 to see if we should end it for the day. Having gained a full day on our schedule we would miss Dave Scribner who planned to meet is in Sarria. It was finally agreed ti move on to Tricastella and change the renmaining schedule.

Yezterday we saw lots of horse dung which indicated horsez from various hamlets had been busy ferryng pilgrims up the long hill.  Today our nostrils were  full of cow manure as every bend in the trail passed fhrough a farm community.

But the day was great, starting with heavy fog and finally ending bright sun. There were beautiful roses in farmers gardens and bright wild flowers. A farmers wife emerged from her home offering homemade crepes and she was eager to know what Canadians called them.

Ended the evening with a ton of salad and a great salmon filet, of course, served with all the wine you could drink

Keep losing internet and losing my text. Only 12 km today but straight up.  Got the heart pumping early and we arrived before 11 and able to secure a room.

Today i folded up my towel and then left it behind.   Found out that
drying off on a handkerchief is tricky but the albergue owner sold me
a new one

Steve and I are now one full day ahead of the planned schedule. We either slow down or end up with 2 rest days in Sarria waiting for Dave to arrive. Its a nice problem to have as the weather in the hills is unpredictable.  Tomorrow we climb to  another major peak and we arent sure there will be accommodation.

 Tomorrow’s steep climb is expected to be hard even though its only 12 km. Dave wasnt able to find accommodation at the hilltop. So steve and i are going to ship our knapsacks to the albergue on top, pick up the bags when we arrive and continue down the other side until we find a bed

Weather today threatened rain all day but all we got were enough drops to force us to wear rain gear. That makes you sweat even more. Met up with a pilgrim from County Cork, who has been on stages of the Camino in 2015, 2016 and now. So when people asked if he started in St Jean, france he replies that he started there in 2015 but he’s a slow walker

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We started out in a thunderstorm, climbed over 900 metres to 1515m,  walked the mountain ridge for over an hour in high winds, then descended down stone strewn water runoff trails for hours to 490 metres and missed the 2 major storms.  The first one struck while we ate brunch (we had been hiking for 4 hours or more) and the second literally flooded the streets as we popped in to a bar to ask directions.  It helps to have  priest by your side. So all is well.  We are td the best is yet to come in a few days as we climb to O’Cebreiro.  Until then we take our chances with lodging and weather. Right now we ahead of schedule in Molineseca.  We expect to make it to Cacabelos tomorrow. Reservations are typically not allowed at Albergues  we had difficulty finding one today and ended up in a hotel room of sorts owned by man who feels obliged to advise all of his pilgrim guests

Scenery was spectacular today but my phone was in safe storage out of the rain.

Starting to see some new  but some familiar faces.  The last Albergue was a  bit of dive and extremely hot for sleeping. I was glad to leave at 6,00 this morning. Also we heard that tstorms were brewing in the hills ahead so we wanted to arrive early.   The current albergue in Rabanal is really clean and managed bt English speaking Christians. We had to wait outside for over 2 hours for it to open but during that time dozens of pilgrims arrived and waited with us.   Once inside we chose our bunks, raced for the showers and did our laundry.  Then right on cue, the storm arrived complete with hail.  Im so fortunate not to be out in that.  They were the size of sugar cubes.    The only wifi  is at the pub down the road. Amazing the stories you hear of pilgrims who started in early May at the start of the camino.  Like winds so strong they were blowing people off the mountain or driving so hard they did face plants.