We started out in the dark, again, through a little bit of city, but then back onto country paths through wooded areas. We hoped for no rain, but when we left the hotel it was raining. And it kept on raining all day long. It was not a hard rain, just a constant, steady rain that kept the water flowing everywhere. It was one of our longest days, almost sixteen miles and 8 hours walking. (slow, wet walking today)
Often the country paths we walk on are like narrow, unpaved roads. When it’s raining and near the farms, they can get very muddy. On the country paths, the rain would form puddles, often deep ones. They are also frequently on hillsides from moderately steep to very steep. On those hillsides, the water finds paths down. Then there are the dirt paths in the forests. Often the water would form streams running down the middle and we had to navigate around and sometimes through the wet, muddy mess.
So we began this rainy day trying to keep our feet dry. We walked slowly, trying to avoid the puddles, the mud, and the flowing streams. This was the day we regretted having set aside our hiking boots, which can be waterproofed and keep your feet dry, in favor of the lighter trail runners. After an hour or so, we just give up. Our feet were already soaked and would stay soaked for the rest of the day. We have good poncho / Parkas that keep the rain out. But then we have to climb some steep hills, working up a sweat, so the inside of our jackets gets just as wet as the outside.
Ever the optimist, Sara always looks on the bright side of things. Yes, she says, it’s raining, but it’s not especially cold (in the 50s), and the wind is not blowing. So, it’s not so bad. Indeed, it could be much worse. And we’re walking through some beautiful country. If this were a clear, sunny day, how we would be enjoying this walk! Evan tries to stay positive, but he still feels too cold and too wet. And now he has a cold again and is coughing constantly.
We walked through Melide, today, a town known for its octopus. Sara wanted to try this again, to experience the best octopus available, which the Spanish call pulpo. So we lunched at Café Ezequiel. Sara liked the pulpo (djidn’t love it) , although it was a bit spicy for her sensitive taste. Evan ate some too, but was much happier with the shrimp scampi that he ordered. We left about half of the pulpo uneaten, but Sara was satisfied that she had eaten her octopus.
We had some difficulty finding our accommodation tonight, since Casa Milia was a bit off the Camino path. Normally, it wouldn’t be a big deal – but we’d been walking for 9 hours and were soaking wet and it was getting colder. The house was lovely, but the heat had been turned off so the rooms were cold. We elected to take a room with two twin beds. But then, to our pleasant surprise, Sanne & Katrina showed up at the same alburgue., and they did not feel comfortable taking a room with a double bed, the only room left available, so we agreed to switch rooms with them. We had the room with the twin beds warming up, so now we moved into another cold room and waited for it to warm up.
It was just the four of us for dinner, which was quite good. The best Galician Soup we’ve had yet. And we had a pleasant visit with Sanne and Katrina. Then off to our cold room to pile on the blankets and get warm under the covers. We did not keep up with our blog that night because we were just too tired and cold. We hang up wet clothes everyplace, and we just hope our shoes and socks will dry.
