Day 15: Santiago to Negreira... heat wave

Last night in Santiago was magical.

First let's talk about the weather.  I checked my phone. Google said it was 64° F. Tina said "no way the temperature dropped 30 degrees in 2 hours". She was right. It was 64 in Santiago,  Chile in the Southern Hemisphere.  Here, it was in the 80's.

The daytime crowds had thinned out and we could hear music.  There was a huge sound stage set up in the Praza de Quintana,  behind the Cathedral.

 

 

Two women were playing violin and accordion. Their music drew on traditional Galician themes, and the crowd was breaking into traditional line dances. It reminded us of Rodrigo and Gabriela.  Apparently,  they were the warm-up band for someone more famous coming later.

We continued walking, and saw musicians walking in medieval garb towards the main square,  the Praza de Obradoiro.

 

 

We strolled around and headed there before turning in.  A traditional university minstrel group, called a "Tuna" was entertaining the crowd. Kind of magical. 

Last view before heading inside. Pretty magical.

Today's forecast was again for temperatures in the 90's with high humidity, not typical for Galicia. Our hotel had a sumptuous breakfast buffet starting at 7 AM.  What would you do?  Leave at 6 AM to avoid the heat or leave after the breakfast that you'd already paid for.  I chose breakfast.  Let's just say that Tina says that was a mistake...

 

7:30 AM  The road out of Santiago heading West quickly left the city.  Apparently, there's much more development on the other side that we walked in on.  We passed both beautiful homes and abandoned tanneries along the river.  We walked through mountain trails.  We were definitely back on the Camino. 

 

The sun rising, the cathedral in the distance... my phone sucks as a camera

 

Compared to previous days, there were almost no other people on the road.  The first group we passed was a group of five middle aged women clowning it up taking a selfie.  We could have written them off as lightweights, but they were wearing heavy full-sized packs. It dawned on us that at the end of this trek is the town of Muxia, and tradition holds that all Galicians must go there once before they die.  Well, bring it on.

 

Needless to say, the ladies never caught up to us.

 

9:15 AM. We are overtaken by a more serious Pilgrim. I am not competitive.

 

Our plan for the day wasn't complicated.  Since we'd be getting a late start, the only break on this mere 22 kilometer walk was going to be a soda break at the half-way point, a town called Agua Pesada ("Heavy Water". Sounds like WWII).

 

We got there at ten AM. There was maybe one other pilgrim in the bar, and the rest were locals.

 

The drinks came with free tapas of ensalada russa, potato and tuna salad.

Funny thing.  As we sat for a half hour in this roadside cafe/bar, lots of pilgrims showed up.  First by the ones and twos.  Some walked right by, like a group of six young Spaniards.  Others stopped in the bar, like a group of ten Irish men and women wearing day packs.  I don't think we were the latest to get started out this morning.

 

After our rest break came a sustained 250 meter climb.  Does that sound like a lot to you?  Well, it's between 75 and 80 stories.  Let's be polite. It sucked.  It seemed to go on forever.  How did we ever climb four times as much last week?  Oh, it's not the heat, it's the humidity...

Fortunately, there were rest areas.  Some modern, and some not.

 

This part of the day was really hard.  It was past eleven AM, and the heat and humidity were taking their toll.  Can you say grumpy?  Then, approaching midday, we walked into perhaps the most beautiful town on this entire trek, Ponte de Maceira.

 

The bridge was built between the 13th and 14th centuries

 

There's this beautiful, narrow stone bridge with five arches crossing a river.  There's a medieval town on the other side with a castle (or something really grand) and a chapel.  There are rapids, old mills, and people swimming.

 

Can't we just stay here?  PLEASE?????

 

That was Noon, and the answer was no.  We had to keep walking to get to our destination and maybe feel like what it would be like to have a shower.  We were so sweaty. This wasn't fun.

 

Let me digress,  I think that part of what makes the Camino so special--and addictive--beyond the spiritual benefits, is the fact that the conditions on the walk can be so wonderful.  As we've mentioned, the temperatures can be blissfully cool for summertime.  (Yes, there are hot parts on the French Route, but there's no humidity.)  There are no poisonous plants.  There are very, very few places with biting insects.  There aren't any animals trying to kill you.  There's no crime.  This is planet Earth at its best.

 

Yeah, but today was kinda sucky in terms of creature comforts.

The heat was wearing on the other pilgrims.  You could see it.  If there was a bar, they would stop hiking.  If there was a bench, they would take a break.  Miserable as we were, slow as we were, we were making good time--and passing people.  (I am not competitive.)

Before 1 PM we showed up at our hostel in Negreira.  Our room wasn't ready... no, that's not accurate.  The hostel wasn't ready to accept guests.  We had some cold sparkling water in their cafeteria and waited outside.  We watched pilgrims stumbling by off the trail.

The statue at the center of town

When the Irish people started showing up, I made a dash for the desk and was the first to get a room.  Showers, here we come!

While we were waiting, Tina found out on her phone that there was a Michelin rated restaurant in this postage stamp of a town, and we made a reservation.  Wow, what a surprise.  I know we started late, and I know that the walk wasn't fun, but it sure felt good to be showered and having an amazing meal on the road!

 

Then after lunch, we figured out that the hostel has a swimming pool.  Bonus!

Tomorrow, we're hiking 34 kilometers, and the forecast is for more of the same heat and humidity.  Our plan is to start earlier than usual and forego the free breakfast.  (Fine.)  We've bought refrigerated coffee drinks and fruit, and I'm recharging my headlamp.  When we're done, we'll be two thirds of the way to Finisterre.  Tina will tell you how it turns out.