We woke to rain and realized that we left the windows in our attic room open and had a flood of water on the floor and into the hallway. After cleaning that up with all of out bath towels, we packed and headed out. This morning was different than other mornings as there was a river of pilgrims heading out on the path. Most were wearing large colorful ponchos that covered them and their packs. Because of the rain people were walking with a determined pace. Cafes were few and far between and because of the rain, many people were stopping. Usually in cafe on the Camino Norte we might see two or three other pilgrims. Today there was a linest each cafe and finding a table under an awning or umbrella was a challenge. But it is all part of the experience. We ended the day at an albergue in A Rua run by a very nice couple it was super clean and thankfully, we both got lower bunks. We met Jonathan and Victoria from Michigan who were walking 2 weeks of the Camino with the Jonathan’s parents. But his parents were staying in hotels on the way not albergues. Victoria was a birth doula and Jonathan was in video production. We had a really nice conversation with them. We headed out for dinner for a typical pilgrim meal of soup, pork cutlet and French fries at the one local restaurant thst was open and were asleep by 9:00 pm.
We woke up the next day and decided to beat some of the rain that was forecast so we stopped at the cafe and got a take-away coffee and croissant. A lot of cafes we had been to on our journey did not offer take away coffee but this is probably one of the benefits of walking with hundreds of others. According to the official pilgrim website, 2400 pilgrims per day were arriving in Santiago. I am sure this number is double in the summer. I’m glad we chose early spring to start our walk.
We almost beat the rain to Lavacolla, our destination, but just as we arrived into town, it started pouring. We ducked into a cafe and ordered a couple coffees to wait out the heavy rain. As we were leaving our Italian friends Eugenio and Sylvia walked in. We didn’t think we would see them as they had arrived in Santiago the day before. They actually walked back to Lavacolla that morning as they were staying in an albergue there. We agreed to meet them at 8:00 pm for one more pilgrimage meal. They were headed back to Milan the next day. As we headed out for dinner the sun came out and the sky was beautiful. It was a perfect way to spend the last night of our Camino-dinner with new friends and a beautiful sunset. Tomorrow we reach Santiago de Compostela – only 11 kilometers away. 🌅
