Eileen Mitchell

So I’ve been fretting over the weather forecast. Every day it looks like it’s gonna be nothin but rain and so far we have been given a reprieve. Until today. And even then it didn’t start until halfway through the walk. And like Grant says, “It’s just part of the deal”. (Now you know who NOT to go to when you’re shopping for sympathy!)
Today was the steepest climb of the Camino. After leaving Pontevedra this morning I turned left to take the Variante Espiritual. Although the entire Camino system is considered a spiritual quest, the spiritual variant in particular is extra. Legend is that it follows the path of the remains of St James when his followers stole his headless body after his execution in Jerusalem, put it in a rudderless boat, and sailed it back to Iberia, the site of his great ministry.
I ran into Heather and Alden leaving Pontevedra. They were also doing the SV, but were just doing the first 11kms today. Heather said that after seeing the weather forecast she had tried to cancel their reservations but wasn’t able to.
The sky looked ominous so my goal was to cover as much ground as possible before the rain came. The first 5 miles were quite pleasant and then the climb started. I ran into a couple of Spanish women I had spoken to previously. They were looking at a huge pumpkin in a garden and talking about making pumpkin soup- (sopa de calabaza). Sounded good to me!
Onward and upward! I started to feel my lack of sleep from last night. Too much Coke Zero kept me awake and just thinking about the rain on the steep climb today- catastrophizing and awfulizing and participating in every other type of disordered thinking. I was imagining my body being swept away in a mudslide. Overreaction, you say? Perhaps.
I came across a cooler with drinks for peregrinos. A man was standing by it. I had my earbuds in listening to a little Brandi Carlile so I didn’t hear him say “good morning” several times until he spoke really forcefully. He wanted to show me his house, which was lovely with a wonderful view. He was German and did not speak English so we tried to muddle through in Spanish. Then he took me to a water fountain insisting I fill my water bottle. Then he told me that the current climb continued for 4 kilometers and there were no facilities on the way. Then he gave me his business card, which was a picture of him being knighted by these men in priest like clothing. His name was Ramon and he said he was a “sir”. On the back of the card was a picture of him in full military regalia with a uniform covered in medals. At the moment I can’t find the card but as soon as I do I’ll give him the full Google treatment.
Anyway, shortly thereafter it started raining. Finally got to try out my Sea to Summit rain poncho. As I kept climbing I noticed that I hadn’t seen anyone in quite a while. And in fact, I didn’t see anyone else for the rest of the trek.
As it turns out the most difficult part was not the climb. That was all on paved or gravel roads, so plenty of traction. But shortly before getting to the monastery was a descent through a ravine over a lot of moss covered rock, which was really slippery. And I’m old. And have osteoporosis. So I sat on my butt so as not to fall. So embarrassing!
And now I have a quandary. I took a taxi down to my accommodation for the night with the intent of taking one back up tomorrow to continue the Camino, but the descent from the monastery is called something like “the path of stone and water”. I’m afraid it’s gonna be the same as that little piece of ravine right before the monastery. Walking from there is a 25 km walk and it’s bound to be slow. And the weather forecast is like 100% chance of rain all day tomorrow. OR I could just walk to my destination from where I currently am. Google maps puts it at an hour and a half. I know me and my Catholic guilt, though. I guess I’ll see how I feel in the morning.Read more