Camino del Norte
Day 22
Sept 24
Last night we stayed in a tiny place called Campiello close to the town of Timeo. We walked 25km…..almost the whole day in the rain!
The previous night was a great experience in the little albergue in Bodenaya. We had a dinner with 16 others…the hospitalero asked everyone to give their name, home country and reason for walking. We had a young man from Moscow, a girl from Poland, a man from Budapest, a German, a girl from Mexico City, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and of course many Spaniards…everyone with a story… most looking for a change in their lives.
We were all introduced as family and were told to make ourselves at home. We had to agree on a wake up time and after some debate and negotiation it was decided that the music would be turned on at 6:45. All devices were to be turned off so there would be no early alarms going off.
It started to rain in the evening and was raining lightly and steadily when we woke.
We had breakfast together and Donna and I left at 8:00am with our red ponchos on. We walked in steady rain through forest and country roads. Many puddles to negotiate in our trail running shoes, again past pastures and fields with cows and sheep often huddled around trees trying to keep dry. There are many dogs (and cats) that bark as we walk through their neighbourhood. Many small villages with only a few old buildings…most of the houses are beautifully kept with nice paint and many flower pots and gardens.
The rain eased up after noon and we arrived at our next place by 2:00pm. We walked alone most of the time.
We bought groceries and Donna created a pasta dish with peppers, chorizo, garlic, olives and more. We had lots of bread with cheese, a bottle of red wine we paid 1.20€ for. We fed 7 pilgrims who also contributed more wine, ham and chocolate. The albergue was very nice, modern and clean with a good kitchen etc.
Tomorrow the weather looks good, sunshine is forecast. We have a big climb tomorrow…the most challenging of the entire Camino….up to 1200m (we are now at 400m) over a 9km span. No services for 14 km and the next stop 25 km over the mountains.
Good night…..