Day 18: Blowing in to Pontevedra

14.7k👣 65Z🧡
7.4km + taxi

Blisters make it hard to keep walking. So does a lot of elevation gain and loss. And then there's doing it in a hurricane. 🌀 🌀 🌀

We left our apartment while it was still dark after a quick breakfast of yogurt and banana around 8:15.
Wound our way down through the old part of town to the roadway where rush hour was well underway, not only with cars but also pilgrims

The wind was really blowing, and it was raining enough to be wearing raingear, but not pouring like the other day. (Feet stayed pretty dry)
Up up up along small roadways and dirt paths
Fragrant with eucalyptus and littered with fallen bark and leaves
Relied on my poles for the first time this trip
Climbed over a couple of downed trees

Made up another verse to that song Clang Clang Clang Went the Trolleys:
🎶🎶
Up up up climbed the pilgrims
At a 19% grade or more
Whoosh whoosh whoosh went the wind
Oh, tomorrow I'll be sore.

Twice, met folks I had seen at the café yesterday when I was sketching. Both times, they recognized me first 😊

Hobbled into the town of Arcade and dove head first into the first cafe, which turned out to be a combination albergue and cafe with extended rooms with tables and chairs - perfect for us!
A&E were already there. Abby's GI was acting up, just as Joe's was settling down, so she (with her gut) and I (with my feet) decided to taxi into Pontevedra
But FIRST! cake (first chance at Tarte de Santiago) and coffee, with tea for Joe
The guys headed back out on the Camino; we got help calling a taxi
Another rider joined us - Diane from Sacramento

It was a half hour drive into town, dropping Diane off at her albergue
We got dropped off at the corner because cars can't go in where our building is !!!
After checking out the apartment, we made a quick run to a teeny tiny farmacia where a lot of pantomime helped up get what we needed
Napped 😴😴 until the guys came in around 4:30-5, having stopped at an Aldi's for some basic groceries. They told tales of climbing around and through some 8" deep water on the roadway on the way down today's second hill !!!

Then the hunt for our bags was on. It turns out there was a closet on the ground floor labeled Alunos (Food)... ???
Showering up now, and we'll see what the evening holdsBaca lagi