Thursday 22 May 2014

The Rain in Spain

The rain in Spain falls mainly  . . . .  in the  Galicia region, or at least that's how it appears to us.  Overnight in O'Cebreiro was wild, with gale force winds, driving rain and freezing temperatures.  Our hotel restaurant had a log fire burning and a huge pot of Galician soup on the boil, so we ate soup with bread for lunch and dinner.  We woke several times during the night wondering if it had snowed and fearful of what the weather would be like in the morning for our decent off the mountain.

The weather had settled somewhat by the time we started walking, however it was still drizzling rain and bitterly cold.  We were in full wet weather gear, finally donning the waterproof pants we have carried the whole way but never worn.  Although we set out in a total white out, after about 5km the weather began to clear and for a short time walking was pleasant, with great views across the mountains and down into the valleys.  That joy was short lived as the weather again turned nasty, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped even further, and the rain turned to sleet.

We trudged on for another 10km before reaching the final leg of the decent, an extremely steep, rocky, downhill section of about 6km. From here we decided to catch a taxi and forfeit these last 6km.  I would have tackled this section had it not been so wet.  My knees struggle with steep decents and I was really concerned about slipping in the mud. I think it was a good decision.

We spent the night in Triacastela in a nice private room in an alburgue. Another wild night of wind and rain.  Todays walk to Samos was only 15km so there was no need to depart early.  By the time we left the rain had almost stopped, although we walked in wet weather gear the whole way just in case there was a downpour. The track followed a fast flowing creek most of the way through beautiful wet forest, a delightful, easy walk.

For the past couple of days we've found some of the small churches to be opened in the tiny villages we've walked through.  It's quite a thrill to see inside these amazing old buildings after walking past dozens of locked ones all the way across Spain.

We came to Samos especially to visit the Benedictine Monastery, a huge, beautifully solid ancient building, and one of the oldest monasteries in the whole of the western world.  Although still a functioning monastery, there are 15 monks living there today, alll elderly, it once housed 200 monks.   Samos is not on the direct Camino route, we had to take a detour to get here, however it was well worth the effort and the extra kilometres just to visit this lovely town.

There is a sign here showing 122km to Santiago!








5 comments:

  1. Love the flower garden wall. It looks cold!

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  2. Is that a stick I see Steven walking with???

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    1. I have a photo of Steve walking with the stick. He asked Wendy if he could borrow it. Saw it with my very eyes. Disgraceful.

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  3. No!!! He is holding it for Wendy.

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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