Mondoñedo

Had a terrible sleep last night. Lights and noise in the albergue till after 11, lights and noise starting at 5, and lots of snoring in a stinky room in between.

I had planned to walk 32 km with two of my little group today but last night I got an email from a Spanish friend who has an albergue (two actually) on the Camino Primitivo. He has most of the day off, lives about 80 km away from here, and has never visited this very pretty little city (with its own cathedral to boot). When I also realized that I was getting a tickle in my throat, it just made sense to get a pension here in Mondoñedo. So after a 9 km walk, a cafe con leche with my buddies, we said goodbye. We all know that's just the way the camino goes, but we were a great little group.

This feels like a day off, which is not a bad idea for me. And this town is very pretty!!!!

There is some confusion about whether the new "camino oficial," which is 6 km shorter (not trivial) and up in the monte is a good idea or not. We got a lot of hype from the hospitalera last night, saying it was treacherous and should be avoided at all costs. Lucky me -- I will get a first hand report from my buddies who went ahead. I'm betting it's perfectly fine, but I will take their advice if they say it was rough.Read more