Day 7 - Ron and the Rain

Yesterday was quite the expereince! I am still in shock as to how bad the weather turned and how quickly (not to mention how difficult the ascent was).  I had dinner last night with Ron ,who I met a few stages ago - 63 year old missionary walking to raise money and fellow cancer survivor; and Brian, who I met on ascent up the mud river that day (former COO of a large multinational service company that was bought out.  We had a great time talking about the events of the day.  Most places have what they call a "Pilgrim's Meal" for 10 Euro.  It is mostly a three course thing and you get to select your starter, your main and a dessert.  Every one I have had has been exceptional.  Dinner usually comes with Bread (man they eat a lot of bread here) and wine (they drink a lot of wine here too).

After dinner, I grabbed my tablet and headed back for the bar where the best WiFi reception is.  I sat at the bar and ordered a "Chocolate Caliente" (hot chocolate).  The Hot Chocolate here is about 4 times as thick as what you might get at home.  I would describe it as a liquid brownie.  Tastey.  Comes with a spoon because you almost can't drink it.  So there I sat and worked on the blog.  Two times while I sat there - the power went out and then came back on.  These guys are way up the mountain and it looks to me like they are used to this kind of thing - taking it all in stride.  It was super quaint in there and nearly everything was made out of wood so the room felt warm.  Part way through I had a conversation with a young lady from the UK.  She described her trek there that day as she had taken a route that had a hill in it before she got to the big hill that we all had to climb.  Sounds like it was a scenic journey for her.  I gotta admit - that UK accent is pretty cool!

She left and I continued on the blog.  The power went off and on one more time and this time the Internet did not come back.  So, I wandered back to my room and fired up my mobile hotspot to submit the blog and check the items on the radiator.  Readied what I could for tomorrow and then went to bed.

Was woken up once at 1:15 AM in the morning to my phone making noise.  It was Zachary (my favorite middle son) texting me to tell me that he had just passed his driving test.  Now the sidewalks are not safe.  I'm proud of him as he's worked hard at both learning how to drive and to purchase his first vehicle.  I heard from my wife today that it was just her and Tim (my favorite youngest son) who were driving to school today.  Zach was taking his own vehicle.  They grow up too fast.

Got up in the morning to find that it was in fact raining again.  This time I was going to make sure I had all the gear on before heading out of the Alberge.  I also decided that there were a few more things that I was no longer going to carry to help lighten my pack just a little bit more.  They say that the Camino provides for those who are in need.  I've left a few things now so I hope someone has received them who was in need.

I received a text from Jim saying that they were ready to go and I quickly typed back that I had heard last night that one could follow the road on this leg as well.  Given how much rain we had and how mucky the trail might be, we opted for the road.  Even though you are walking by some traffic (not too busy), I found that having a sure footing day was refreshing.  On the trail you are constantly watching out for rocks and puddles. The air was crisp and at times the breeze felt like it was going right through you.  It rained most of the way only stopping for the times we had chosen to stop for something to eat or drink.  The second we were done and grabbed our gear - it began to rain again.

Our it's stop was a small place and we had the traditional toast and 'cafe-con-letche'.  It's amazing how that can hit the spot when you are on foot.  As I rounded the corner to see if there was something I could grab to take along with me, I saw Ron sitting at a table by himself.  I described to him about the road option and then showed him it in my book.  I think he went down the path the whole way.  Walking along in the rain it seemed to get colder; and then I saw them.  There was freezing rain/snow hitting my

jacket.  What's up with that?  We then stopped in at another place for a Tea so that we could warm up and ran into Manuel and another German girl that we had met a number of days earlier.  This is what is so cool about the Camino - how you can keep running into people you have met along the way in different places.  After we left the Tea place, I was ahead of Brenda and Jim and eventually caught up to Ron again.  I asked him about his story - how he became a drug addict and alcoholic.  Tough situation - but he's a changed man as a result of hitting bottom.  He said the Camino reminded him of when he was homeless.

We found ourselves arriving in Tricastela together - so I decided to just wait under a tree, where it was a little drier, for Brenda and Jim.  They arrived shortly and we started the trek to find ourselves a place to stay for the night.  We stopped at two Alberges and non of them had any private rooms left.  So, we shot off to the end of the town and found a guest house that had what I would call a two room suite available.

We took it.  There is nothing that beats a private bathroom with a nice warm shower after walking for about 24 Km's in the rain.  Once cleaned up, we wandered outside and found Brian there as well as a Finnish gent we had also met before.  After a short chat - we ended up at a restaurant down the street for dinner.  Russian Salad, steak and fries was the choice today.  All of the food has been fantastic. Short walk to the supermarket to grab a couple pieces of fruit for the pack, just in case you need something to tide you over, then back know the room to get ready for bed.  Will be up at 6:30 tomorrow to get ready for breakfast at 7:30 for an 8:00 departure for the Camino.  Bit of a climb tomorrow, but the weather looks like it's supposed to be good (no rain).  Although the day after looks like it might be back to the liquid sunshine.

Blister on the baby toe was picture worthy according to Brenda and Jim.  I'll spare you the details. As of today it looks like we are 7 days out from the final destination.  The trail will become more and more crowded as some other trails seem to join in along the way.  Tomorrow our destination is Saria , which is about 100 miles out from Santiago.  This is the shortest distance you can walk and get a Compostela (certificate of completion).

Buen Camino

Curt