Day 26: Melide to Santa Irene: Walkin' In the Rain.

We got an earlier start than we planned in Melide, because a man in the next bunk bed decided to start talking--and then yelling in his sleep. Hello, 4:30 AM.  The day was forecast to feature showers, particularly later in the day.  We wanted to make as much progress as possible before the rains started, so we got out of bed and moved our stuff out of the dormitory room.

The early part of our walk was quiet and uneventful, with few other pilgrims joining the path.  We left at 5:10 am and walked along woodland paths through many small villages before coming to our coffee stop 6 kilometers away in the small town of Boente.  We stopped at a roadside cafe that was doing a bustling coffee service at 6:45 am.  Lots of pilgrims had already gathered there.  Some had spent the night in Boente's hostels.  Other had traveled there and stopped for refreshments.  It was quite the scene in the early morning.

Waves and waves of pilgrims kept peeling off and continuing their journey.  There were families, folks with strollers, people with pets, even a family pushing an elderly man in a wheelchair (not sure how that works on the rocky climbs and descents of the Camino!).  We joined the crowd and were surrounded, for a while, with our fellow walkers. As each group settled into its own pace, the crowd thinned and we again felt that we had the Camino to ourselves.

We passed the usual Galician sights: cows, corn, and kale.  And lovely hills,  And views from mountaintops.

Cows in repose.  This scene repeated itself throughout the day. Do they sense impending rain?

Views from Our Walk

Mountain Villages in the Mist

Galician Home With Grapevine Arbor

It was a very sentimental walk.  After nearly a month of walking, we were within 50 kilometers of our destination.  We tried to soak in all the sights, sounds, and emotions of the moment.  We're really going to miss this when it's over!

As the day progressed, we were joined by more and more pilgrims on the road.  The town of Arzua, which we reached by 8:00 am, is the crossing point of the Camino Frances (our route) and the Camino del Norte (a route which follows the Bay of Biscay).  That means that even more pilgrims crowd the same narrow paths we all walk to Santiago de Compostela.  Fun!

Not Our Private Camino Any More!

Mist started falling by 10:00 am, then turned to rain a few hours later. Out came the beautiful blue ponchos we mentioned in past posts.  Here's Paco posing in the rain:

Paco Dressed in Smithsonian Garb!

We trudged along for hours in the driving rain.  The countryside was beautiful, despite the weather.  We were grateful for the cool temperatures and soft breezes.  It's much easier to walk long distances when it's not hot and sunny outside!

We arrived at our albergue around 1:30 pm, having walked 31.2 kilometers and scaling over 1,000 vertical meters (that's 3,000 additional feet, in the rain!).  We were the first to arrive, so we got first choice of bunks, first chance at the showers, and the owners even offered to do all our laundry while we went out to lunch.  The proprietor drove us to the restaurant himself. Now that's hospitality! (It was the first time we'd been in any kind of vehicle since July 12th.)

Roasted vegetables with local goat cheese and prawns. Lunch in a small town!

There's a large group of Italian teenagers staying at our hostel as well.  The proprietor told us that the first group of 8 young people who checked in was here with their father.  Paco's response:  wow, that's a big family.  Reply:  no, that's the parish priest escorting the students.  That made more sense!

Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy as well.  We have about 24 kilometers to go to reach Santiago.  We hope to be there by noon.  We'll start early, as usual. It's exciting to have our objective nearly in hand, and sad to know that this magical journey is almost at its end.