44. Lubián to A Gudiṉa

It was a cold night in the albergue, so much so that I slept in almost every article of clothing I had in my pack - beanie, socks, fleece and then my wet weather jacket as a blanket. At about 4am, it started to rain, as forecast, and when we rose at 6.30 it was inclement, to say the least. 

As you can imagine, the motivation to get out on the road was pretty low. I packed everything I could into dry bags and, at seven, Fernando and I struck out for the local café. We hoped that by the end of breakfast things may have eased somewhat. No such luck. At 7.45am it was raining even heavier than before and looked set in. What to do?

‘How about an umbrella’, he said, bring a clown.

Ahhh, hold on!! It blew inside out in seconds.

By this stage others were talking about a taxi. That didn’t feel right. At eight, I decided just to go for it.

Within 200 metres of starting, soaked and with washing in rivers around my feet, I realised I’d need to get my my phone into a dry bag too - no chance of photos in these conditions. I paused under a bridge to secure the phone and ploughed on, into the forest for a three kilometre climb up a steep, thickly wooded, muddy (and slippery) path. 

At the top, I crossed the broader from Castile y Leon into Galicia - the fourth region of this Camino. The wind was howling, the rain was horizontal and it was freezing! I paused, dug the phone out for a quick shot, and then ploughed on into the mist. (Undoing the clips on my pack with such cold fingers was a major feat!)

The other disorienting thing about crossing into Galicia is that all the distance markers were showing Santiago to be thirty five kilometres further than they had been in Castile y Leon!!?? The only thing that may partly explain it is that these markers are measuring the way via Verin, whereas in Castile it was via Laza.

A couple of hours later, the rain started to ease, though not the wind. There were even some sunny patches. I pulled out the camera for a couple of shots.

At one point, I was almost flattened by a huge mob of sheep moving quickly across the path.

I sometimes add a rock to these wayside cairns but not this one, not in this wind.

Moss covered dry stone walls are a feature of Galicia. 

As A Gudiṉa came into view the clouds were building again. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this weather.

I hurried on into town, even catching those who’d taken the taxi half way this morning. 

The old albergue here has been replaced with a very flash new one. I’m told it even has underfloor heating, which means, I hope, that it won’t be as cold as it was in Lubián last night. Anyway, here’s the view from the window next to my bunk - not bad!

Now, I need to try and get boots and clothes dry. Switch on the underfloor heating, I say!! Meanwhile, the albergue is being hammered by wild winds and rain. I’m grateful to be inside!

Buen Camino

Neil 🖤👣☔️💨