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Links: to Spain, by way of Windsor: 02 Rally Finish Onto Spain: 05 onto Leon 06 Astorga 08 to El Acebo 12 O'Cebreiro
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Biduedo, Galicia, Spain 23 May, Friday. 14km, five hours. Yesterday, I said we'd escaped the snow - I spoke too soon. When I opened the door to the outside world this morning, I thought, "that's funny, it's white rain!" Well, I was still half asleep. Locals assured us the snow would last only a short time, so we thought, "oh well, what the hell - the weather improved throughout the day each day so far, so we'll give it a go".. The snowfall did last only a short time - but it was replaced with rain, sleet, wind, and at one brief point, stinging tiny hailstones. Earlier, I wrote that we wouldn't hesitate to take taxis or buses if the weather was was against us, but we thought we had to get out and actually do some walking, after three days off. |
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Had the weather been kinder, it would have been a beautiful walk, with the glorious views and green forest trails we remembered from last year. We'd planned only a14km. walk today, so we were better off than many people who were contemplating up to 30km. They were younger and fitter, but I'm sure by tonight, they'd have been regretting their schedule. I struggled with any ascent we had to make, although our overall altitude didn't increase at all - in fact, it fell by about 150metres. But I took comfort from the fact that many of the other perigrinos also found the going hard. It wasn't just me At one cafe we reached today, the bar was crowded with walkers and cyclists, all seeking comfort from the conditions outside. I heard one cyclist describe the day as "horrible". I quietly agreed with her. I'd ordered some comfort food for lunch, potato soup, but by the time I'd finished it, it was almost cold. I think Dave enjoyed it though. |
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At one point this afternoon, I heard Dave give a disbelieving laugh... "What's so funny?" I asked, head bent down to protect my face from the driving rain. As I spoke, I lifted my head to look up - and was promptly hit by arrows of ice. Hail, just to finish me off totally. My hands have never been so cold, even with my woollen gloves on. Our wet weather gear was, on the whole, pretty good - my shoes and socks stood up to the onslaught, but my jeans were just a little damp under the wet-weather trousers. Not to worry - they'll dry out overnight in a room which at least has a heater, unlike the primitive conditions we were subjected to last night. Oh, and a note for Liz and Dave H - today was the first day we really sampled the eau de farmyard, a fragrance we became very familiar with last year. There must be many more farming animals around here than we found in the earlier part of our walk. |
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Anyhow, tonight, we are snug and comfortable in what's called a "country inn", in the isolated hamlet of Biduedo, which consists of three buildings. Dave has found a spot in front a fireplace, next to the bar, so he can dry his jeans out at the same time he samples the local vino tinto. Only drawback is that the locals who also use the facilities of the bar, are very loud-voiced. I'm sure they are all friends, it's just that the Spanish language sometimes sounds so aggressive. Let's hope tomorrow's weather is kinder, for our final day's walk to Samos, the village where we started our walk to Santiago last year. (Saturday morning): Looking out the window of our room this morning, fog is wrapping the hills around us, but it looks calm.. No wind! So the outlook is good! |
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At
the highest point today, a statue has been erected, showing a
peregrino leaning in against the wine and the rain. Any
of the pilgrims today could have been used at a model!