Baamonde

Today has been one of those low days. First the three German boys in my lovely albergue room got up at 5. I couldn't go back to sleep so at 5:45 I got up, made some coffee and was walking by 6:45. It was actually not a bad start time since I had 35 km to go today. Not much elevation, so I thought I'd be fine. But by the time I got here, I was dragging.

Leaving the lovely Albergue, I turned the corner to find that what had clearly once been a narrow grassy green tunnel had been bulldozed and filled with crushed rock. Gripe#1. Then a few hours later I arrived in Vilalba, a little less than halfway. It is an UGLY town. Gripe# 2. The guy at my coffee stop put fake crab, melted cheese, and ham in my tortilla sandwich. Gripe#3. From there, it was 18 more km with a lot of asphalt and sun, and nowhere to rest. Gripe#4. Then I told myself to stop griping and enjoy the day. And there were some gorgeous chestnut trees, one of which had a little plaque saying it was 700 years old!

Finally, on the outskirts of town, a Spanish couple passed me and seemed pretty unfriendly. A Portuguese couple came up (you can see I am dragging if everyone is passing me) and I walked with them into the Albergue and the explosion started. The Portuguese guy took one look at the unfriendly Spanish lady and started cursing her out. There must have been a big conflict of some sort that triggered his outburst. It was a bit tense but luckily the woman checking all of us in put them at opposite ends of the Albergue.

All in all it was not a 5***** day but that happens. I also think my body is running out of gas slowly. But after a shower and the therapeutic hand washing of clothes, all seemed much better. And imagine my delight when I learned that in the bunk next to me is my Australian friend Ann. We had split up a few days ago when she had foot problems. She is walking again and is feeling good.Read more