The rain in Spain

Camino marker with our boots -
only 1 of each as we had to
stand on the other one! It was wet!

 If the rain in Spain does fall mainly on the plains then that obviously was where we were for the greater part of the day. It started out promisingly enough with the weather prediction for lengthy sunny spells and while we had overcast skies there was no actual precipitation. This lasted for the first hour and then the heavens opened. We’ve decided that weather forecasters in Spain are obviously optimists or don’t like delivering bad news because there were only a couple of brief sunny periods. In addition today was much cooler (actually colder) than it has been and so by the time we arrived at Casa O Acrivo our noses and fingers seemed somewhat numb. Even when the rain eased off we left the plastic poncho on to try and keep warm.

Casa O Acrivo was just the tonic when we arrived cold and wet after walking 20kms. A warm shower and then the chance to sit in front of the fireplace that was in our little unit. I know it does not exactly fit with the pilgrim image but I am certainly not too proud to accept the bit of luxury when it comes along. Mel at RAW Travel – you did a great job picking this one!!

Brand new bridge with half
finished motorway. Not sure
if the Spanish government can
afford to finish it.

We met up with some fellow Aussies from Sydney this morning as we were leaving Arzua and it was good to walk and chat with some familiar accents for a while. Like us they had started in Sarria but were arranging their own accommodation from day to day and had done the 30km stretch from Portomarin to Arzua yesterday. They were really feeling it today as it was 6:00pm last night before they arrived. Our itinerary for this has worked out extremely well. It is interesting the closer we get to the end the more you notice people hobbling and in pain whether they are cyclists or walkers. It seems very few people at the meal stops etc  are in a good way. We both feel great – no blisters or aches and pains so we feel particularly lucky. The physiotherapists and massage therapists strategically positioned in the major towns along the path of the Camino must do a roaring trade.

Finally managed to get a photo of the
cows in the shed. 11:00am and still
milking!

An adventure for lunch today as we stopped at one restaurant to get a break from the rain. A couple of large Spanish groups (one of cyclists and the other walkers) were there and struggling to get the attention of the waiter. Should have taken this as a sign that a couple of non-Spanish speakers would no hope. The waiter was rushing from one thing to another but could obviously only focus on one thing at a time. While he had none of the physical characteristics of Manuel from Fawlty Towers he had the exact same mannerisms and we kept expecting John Cleese to arrive and give him a clip around the ears. We did manage to catch his eye and he indicated he would be with us shortly but at that time he was obviously focussed on collecting empty glasses because he then disappeared and when he reappeared he seemed to have forgotten about us completely. After waiting for another 10 minutes and finishing our orange juice which is about twice as expensive as beer we gave up and went across the road to another restaurant and had the most amazing and delicious meal.

Road block - Camino style

There seem two quite distinct groups on the Camino (always dangerous when you generalise) – one is the ‘young group’ who stay in the Alberques and like to party and particularly enjoy the beer whether it is 9:30 in the morning or night; the second group is the more mature group who tend to utilise the taxi service to get their luggage from one place to the next and prefer the more luxurious approach. Whatever the original motivation for commencing the Camino whether it be for adventure, spiritual awareness, pilgrimage, personal discovery – people seem to take something from it. Anything that takes us from our ordinary day and gives us the space, freedom and opportunity to get in touch with something beyond ourselves has to be a good thing.

One of the comments that I read was that the true Camino started after you have arrived in Santiago and I’m sure this is the case. The difference that is made in your life when ‘normal life’ resumes is the real question. 

Tomorrow sees us make the final part of the journey to Santiago.

Love to all

S&E