Santiago to Oliveroa

We stayed two days in Santiago which allowed us to recover from the 116km walk from Ourense.  Neither of us were ready to leave Santiago after the first full day of rest and our host graciously said we could stay one more day and we did.  It worked because the second evening we both agreed we were ready to be on our way.

We had been to the mercado, found a tapas restaurant we liked (actually several) washed our clothes, obtained some gifts, visited the Cathedral several times to give thanks, seen the Botafumeiro swing,  and explored the old parts of Santiago.

What we gained from our rest, however, we lost due to the weather.  In the early morning (maybe 4 AM) the weather in Santiago turned into a tropical thunderstorm with thunder, lightning, a drenching downpour and wind.   At one point I’m sure lightning hit one of the Cathedral spires.  Our flat was, oh, maybe 200 meters away.  The crack of the thunder was not a rumble but an explosion.

Worse was the pounding of the rain on the large skylights of the flat we rented. The flat is on the top of the building and certainly was an attic at one time. It is nicely furnished with plenty of room and complete with newish fixtures. a full modern kitchen, washing machine and comfortable furniture.  But the only windows are skylights.  The skylights flood the flat with light during the day.  There are no other windows that look out at buildings or down to the street.  So when it rains very hard, as it did in the early morning, the flat gets noisy from the rain pounding on the skylight windows.

Now, about rain and walking in it. I really don’t mind a light drizzle or even an intermittent shower. But I am not a duck and have little interest in proving “I can walk through anything”.  In fact I’d rather NOT get wet and have to continue walking.  I have light rain gear, but nothing that is really waterproof.  I have looked, but the gear that really will keep the rain out doesn’t breathe (inspite of what it says).   Worse perspiration soaks into the clothes so the clothes get wet with sweat and then start to smell anyway.

Suffering from some deprivation, or/and exhaustion, and being uncomfortable is one of the experiences of doing a Camino!   Walking the Camino de Santiago means walking for many miles a day in unfamiliar terrain,  trying to get along in a country with a different culture and where most of the people do not speak very much if any English (and I speak very little Spanish).  Communication obstacles and failures are part of a Camino for me.  But that’s part of doing this sort of thing. The Spanish people really do go out of their way to be hospitable and accommodating which more than makes up for any communication issues.  Weather issues such as heat, sun, wind, and rain are mostly unavoidable.

Back to the rain.  After walking through downpours in the past, my preferences have changed, and now I either wait out a storm or just forget about that section.  And that is what we did today.  Theoretically we should have left Santiago for Negreira  but we did not do that.   Instead we hopped on the bus to Muxia and got off at Baíñas thereby passed up the 21 km section to Negreira and the additional section from Negreira through Maronas and on to Olveiroa which is about 30 km.  It was pouring heavily as we left Santiago.  As the bus headed West the rain lessened so that by the time we arrived in Baíñas it was only lightly raining.

So we grabbed a coffee and a bocadillo and headed for Olveiroa.

People have asked me what a typical Spanish country bar is like, where they serve coffee, sandwiches (bocadillos), tapas, beer and so on.  Here is the bar in the small village of Baíñas.  It is really Just the community refreshment and meeting center!  The food in the local bars is always good and the people there are very welcoming and this one was no different..

Refreshed, we started out with a light rain keeping us cool, but not enough to get us wet.

Within an hour the clouds thinned and with the exception of a few light spits from the sky we proceeded to Olveiroa.  We punched it out in just over 2 hours.

Last year I stayed at Casa Loncho, which is the first Pension on the road entering the village of Olveiroa.  An ok place.  But just 100 meters down the road is a much nicer place called As Pais . It has a much nicer bar and nicer dining room.  The rooms was quite an upgrade from Casa Loncho and the price this year was the same price that I paid last year at Casa Loncho.

We talked to several other pilgrims who had walked from Maronas  or Negreira.  They all said the rain had been terrible.  Their gear and clothes were soaked.  We walked past Casa Loncho and took the photo below!   Count the wet boots/shoes outside drying under the overhang.  My count is 21 plus jackets, shirts, pants and sock.

After our dinner we took a short walk around the village and checked out the Municipal Auberge (not the albergue in the photo above).  Maybe 40 or more double stacked bunk beds in several rooms, with three showers / toilets. The sleeping dorms were maybe half full. People had their clothes hanging everywhere to dry and it didn’t smell like the clothes were fresh out of a washing machine.

All in all a short day, but enough to get us ready for the 19 km to Cee tomorrow. And the forecast (variable by the hour) says it should be light showers tomorrow morning, then clearing.