A Christmas Camino

There is not a lot to say about these few days. There was not a lot to see as my head, and body, were bent to the wind and rain. By the end of each day I was soaked through, and even though I had waterproofed my boots it made no difference, and after a few hours I was squelching my way along with each step. I had a message from Jill, after my last day into Santiago, who was keeping an eye on the weather and she informed me that the wind had gusts of 80 kms an hour.  The last two days the path is often through eucalyptus plantations. I won’t go into the environmental damage that this has done to this part of Spain, but with my memory of what transpired in our last storm just before I left you can guess I was planning each sprint through the sections of forest! The wind was howling above me in the treetops, and the trees themselves were bending and swaying as the wind whistled through them. I was particularly nervous when I came to areas where felling had occurred, as I knew that t...

Yesterday and today have been shorter days. It was either that or one loooong day - I opted for the 2 short days, leaving Palas de Rei after breakfast, and in light drizzle. It was not long before I could put my brolly away, where it stayed for the rest of the day's journey. I think that the wind was so fierce that it kept pushing the clouds back, keeping the rain away. The path led through small villages, picturesque, but with only one bar open the entire way. This part of Spain is showcase of the traditional granaries called Horreos. I stopped to take a photo of one massive one with a church in the background. As I reached it, the church I mean, I saw it was open and so went in for a sing and a sello (the stamp in the credecial). The elderly custodian was delighted when I burst into Amazing Grace, giving me a clap when I finished. He then insisted that I skirt around the edge of an obviously precious rug to take a photo of the altar. The gap had no "turn around" space, ...

As with my previous post, I am having trouble putting the photos on the blog. I will try and upload them separately. Like last time II will upload them in a separate post. They will be in chronological order - beginning with Villafranca del Bierzo, then to Sarria, the walk from Sarria to Portomarin, then the cold wet day to Palas de Rei.  I was fortunate in Villafranca del Bierzo in having good weather while I recovered from Covid. This meant that I could toddle into town, don a mask, and sit outside to eat in the cold. One day I was even able to sit in sunshine, which was a bonus. My host was very kind, offering to take me to the doctor, but he didn't need to, as apart from an increase in my cough which is regularly with me, I had no symptoms. Or so I thought. I had been VERY itchy with hives for some days, and consulting Dr Google (I only consult this Dr when oI am in foreign country, and can't make myself understood) on impulse I discovered that, for some, this can be a symp...

For some reason all the photos posted have disappeared from this post - i will continue to try and fix it as i have unexpected time on my hands. Check back later to see if i have been successful! Yesterday dawned cold - but dry. The light on the clouds, on the buildings as I left the village, and on the vegetation was very beautiful. The day began with no mist, but as the day progressed, each time I looked back, I could see a bank of misty cloud stalking me. I was very relieved that it didn't catch me until I was off the mountain.  Rabanal del Camino.  Leaving Rabanal del Camino.   The path heading up to Foncebadón.  There was no breakfast to be had in Rabanal, the hotel owners deciding that was the day they were going to sleep in! I was told that it would be possible to get breakfast in Fancebadón, but it wasn't to be! Thus the food for nearly the whole day was muesli bars!  Being chased by the clouds! The climb up to Cruz de Ferro is steady and very pleasant, with specta...

Yesterday began with a slight drizzle, and I began with rain pants on, raincoat off, and umbrella up.  By the time I got to the outskirts of Hospital de Órbigo I had decided this was not a good plan!  I stopped, removed my hi-vis "monkey see", put on my raincoat and back on with the "monkey see", put the umbrella up, and set off again.  Leaving Hospital del Órbigo  A Spanish pilgrim passing me. My feet started off dry, and stayed that way for about 8 kms, but by the end of the day they were sodden, and I was squelching my way to Astorga.  To my delight, despite not using plastic bags and dry sacks as insurance everything in my pack was bone dry, sadly not the case for some fellow pilgrims who spent considerable time drying out their clothes.   What could be seen of the way was lovely, and the heavy mist made for some ethereal views.  There was no wind fortunately (I could keep my brolly up!), until the last hour or so on th...