Not for nothing does ‘Wise Pilgrim’ describe this section as the ‘leg wrecker!’ I think there was about 80m of flat on the whole stage. The rest was up, up, up or down, down, down!
I overslept this morning as I forgot to change my alarm from every weekday to every day, which meant a slightly later start than I’d have liked, but on the plus side Garmin says my body battery was at 61%, the first time it has been over 40% for weeks. Maybe private rooms and aircon are what I need!
Last night, as I sat with Maura and Carol having a beer, we realised that we were being covered in ash. There are wildfires in Spain but last night was the first time I was really aware of them. This morning instead of mist there was a smokey haze and the smell of smoke. It smelt like November in the UK, but was as warm as June.
I am sure that the views are normally stunning, but the smoke haze closed them down. I’d become used to seeing forever. We’ve been promised rain for days now. I hope we get some to help prevent the fires spreading and to improve the air quality.
It was quite a long slog, maybe 12k, to breakfast bir when I got there is was lovely to see so many of my Camino family. They were either already there or came in while I was there. The more challenging terrain of this Camino, compared to the Frances, means that very few people do long stages. This means you can be pretty certain of seeing familiar faces during the hike and when you reach your accommodation. This is lovely and almost makes up for the absence of communal meals in the Albergues.
The Camino trail takes us through Melide, which is where one of the fires is raging. Who knows if we will make it to Santiago this time? Let’s just hope the rain, for which this part of Spain is so famous, arrives soon! Yes it will turn the trail paths into rivers - but putting out fires will save lives and livelihoods.
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