371 kilometers left to walk to Santiago de Compostela.
After a tasty breakfast of toast drizzled with olive oil and crushed tomatoes (a Spanish favorite) we headed out toward Villaviviosa, our destination, 24 kilometers away. It was a warm, sunny day, and a day of constant up and down hills as we passed through numerous small towns. We met Barb from Australia who was in her early 70s and hiking alone with a big pack. She had hiked the first part of the Camino Norte many years ago with her husband and had returned to finish it. She said her husband has hip and knee issues and a list of chores to do at home while she is away. When we caught up with her a second time, after stopping for coffee, we were walking up a steep hill and she was counting 35 steps and then taking a break. She was doing the Camino her way and thst is the beauty of the Camino de Santiago spirit. We all walk for our own reasons and in our own style. There is no judgement or correct way or speed to walk. She had o time constraints and was doing what worked for her.
While walking; we crossed paths with a young couple from Seattle and walked with them for a while. We had the usual conversation about politics but this time we were both coming to the conversation with an American perspective It was a day without a lot of services or shops. At one point an hour or two before our destination there was a sign for a vending machine ahead. We were quite excited for a cold ice tea to help us go snort 5 kilometers. We had the correct change but the machine wasn’t working. We tried numerous times as it looked like it had been recently stocked. We also checked and it was plugged in but no luck. We trudged on and, as we walked into the small city of Villaviciosa with another pilgrim from London, we noticed that none of the stores were open and they should have been as it was past siesta time. We found our hotel and the woman at reception told us we could just go to our rooms without checking in because there was no power anywhere in Spain and they were unsure of when it would be restored. We dropped our stuff off in the room and I went out to see what I could learn about the situation. I was told all kinds of things like it was a terrorist attack and the power could be out for days but no one really had any credible information. There was no Wi-Fi and for most people no cellular service. Of course no one had access to the radio. It made us realize how dependent much of the world is on the internet. I ran into Paul from the Netherlands who didn’t know what was going on and Gretchen from Germany who we met a few days earlier. She was talking with another pilgrim about a supermarket on the outskirts of town that had a generator and was open. I got directions and headed there to pick up something for supper and lunch for the next day just in case power wasn’t restored. I returned with 2 premade salads,Brad, cheese and ham for the next day and several iced teas in case we couldn’t get coffee in the morning. We had been walking past apple trees all day and I had read ciders were a big industry here. Gretchen encouraged
We had been walking past apple trees all day and I had read ciders were a big industry here. Gretchen encouraged me to be bottle of cider at the store as well. Under the direction of the woman working at reception at the hotel, we learned that the cider had to be pored from at least 4 feet above the glass so it gets oxygen and that it is only poured an ounce at a time and you have to drink it all down quickly. She of coyotes wouldn’t let us pour it in the hotel cafe as half of it gets soiled on floor. We went out side to park bench and even though you were not supposed to pour it or drink it on the street, no one cared as they were all dealing with the power outage. Luckily at around 8:30, power was restored and crisis averted. I am still unsure of the cause. Portugal was blaming Spain and Spain was blaming France. Others blamed it on extreme temp fluctuations in Spain. I’m sure some even blamed it on the Trump Administration. I wouldnt be surprised As we headed off to sleep it dawned on us that the power outage was reason for the vending machine not working and somehow that made us feel better. 😊
