Wet, Wet, Wet

Yuck. It was a damp day on the Camino today. After a restless night in the living room of last night's hostel (due to the extreme snoring competition happening in my bunkroom), we got an early start, saw a beautiful sunrise, and cruised through a quick 10 km before breakfast.  It started to rain just as we walked into the city of Ponferrada for coffee and apple pastries.

We pulled out the rain gear and set out under grey clouds and a steady drizzle after breakfast.  We found ourselves walking from town to town again today with stretches along the road broken up by beautiful clay paths through vineyards and green valleys.  It was a nice mix with fast walking and occasional breaks of sun (before the rain would come down again).

We managed to squeeze in a quick picnic lunch in a park Cacabelos before the afternoon rain came down hard.  There was really nothing to do but keep going, so we squinted our eyes, got wet, and walked through the downpour.  After a little more road walking, we spent our last 5 km in a spectacular vineyard with misty mountain views and a constant stream of ups and downs.  The red clay path became extremely slippery, and we found ourselves slipping backwards as we climbed up steep hills with our shoes caked with wet, red clay.  

Despite our early start, we were amazed by the number of other pilgrims on the trail today.  It is getting busier and busier as we get closer to Santiago and more routes merge.  We thought we would have an easier job finding a hostel tonight in Villafranca del Bierzo, but, once again, it proved to be a little tricky.  After a 31 km day of walking, expending the extra effort on steep cobblestone streets to traipse around to find a place to sleep is painful.  We did end up with beds (which is always nice on a rainy night) in an odd little place. I have a rubber mattress on my top bunk with a plastic Jesus skylight directly over me.  The solar-heated showers are cold (funny how that works on a grey and sunless day), and, with the constant drizzle, every smelly, wet pilgrim is packed into the limited covered common space this evening.

We did get a warm dinner in town.  When Brianna's arrived, she grasped her bowl of pasta with two hands and said, "I just want to put my face in this to warm up." Desperate times. I'm dreaming of a washer and dryer, a thick mattress with sheets, and a full night of undisturbed sleep. I'm pretty confident that will remain a dream for just a bit longer.