Sleep was good and I didn’t want to get up. When Pam jumped down from her bunk, she managed to smack my bunk on the way down. I looked below to see Shaun was already up, so I had no choice but get up as well.
We had laundry done by the albergue last night, so first order of business was sort out the laundry and pack everything up. Just one problem, I was missing one of my favorite socks. You pay 7 Euros and you expect them not to lose your clothes. We went through everything 3 times to make sure my “darn tough” sock wasn’t inside of another article but no sock. I was “irritated”. I took the basket up with my single sock. I told them they lost my sock and to please check the machines. The guy came back and said it wasn’t in the machine and there was nothing he could do. I wanted a refund for my laundry and for them to buy me a new pair of socks. I got no where. I didn’t make a scene or yell, but I asked him to please call the manager. His response was that the manager would just say the same, the sock is not in the machine and there is nothing they can do.
I resisted my urge to destroy $30 worth of merchandise to equal the cost of my socks. Perhaps I am gaining patience on the Camino after all. Or maybe I knew someone standing in the shop and didn’t want to make an ass of myself in front of them. Which ever case it was, I’m glad I kept my cool. When I went back to the room to pack up and grab my other pair of socks, I found my missing DIRTY sock which Pam didn’t pick up with all the other dirty clothes. I’m not blaming Pam (even though it’s clearly her fault since her job was to take the dirty clothes up)–I’m clearly growing on this trip.
It’s entertaining to see all the first day pilgrims that are starting out of Serria today. We had breakfast on the patio and watched the throngs straggle by. Bob and Chris came in as we were getting ready to leave. They seem to be traveling slower this week. I’m really glad to see them so often because I was afraid we wouldn’t ever see them again once Paul left and they took off a day before us out of Leon.
The plan is 17.5 miles to Gonzar today. The trail doesn’t look bad today–just a moderate climb of 700′ and then a drop down into Portomarin where we’ll have some food before hiking the final 5 miles into Gonzar. We get to start off re-hiking the 1/2 mile Shaun and I had to hike TWICE yesterday because Pam didn’t do her job of trail watching–we didn’t let her forget it at any point along the way.
The trail was crowded like we have never seen it before. There are hundreds of pilgrims around us. It’s easy to tell those that are fresh from those of us hiking from France–the freshies are clean and carrying stuff in their hands (grocery bags, bottles of water, untainted hope) while the old timers walk slower and let everyone pass to try to find quiet spots (or holes) in which to walk.
If it hadn’t been for a Dane, we would have walked right past the 100K marker (62.5 miles) which is the minimum required distance to walk into Santiago to receive your credentials verifying that “you made it”. We walked on and off with people we have known for the last month–Adrian and Edele from Ireland, Bob and Chris from the USA, Kat from Canada, and of course, Shaun from Australia.
When we came through Ferrerios, we met up with a couple of film crews making a documentary for BBC television. We didn’t find out until later that John Brierly (the author of our guide book) was a part of this filming. It’s probably a good thing for him and us that we didn’t know, because we have a few complaints about his book. It’s widely in use but the maps are less than accurate–I’m sure I’ve had a few rants about this before. We talked to someone that walked with him and they said he was a quiet and nice person. Zen Curtis might not have kept his mouth shut, but we’ll never know if he would have survived the test.
Coming out of Vilcha, we started walking with Bob and Chris. We had come to a split in the road where we had to choose a longer road walk, or a portion that was labeled “difficult walk” even though it was the official route. I wanted the difficult walk, Pam and Shaun were both opting for the road, it was Bob who sided with me and convinced everyone to be adventurous.
The difficult section wasn’t bad at all. It was a narrow path between two old field walls that has washed out over the centuries so there are a few larger steps and pretty much just a lot of exposed stone on the trail. It definitely would be treacherous in a downpour, but it was only north of Madagascar hot today.
Coming back out onto the road for a short walk to the bridge leading across the reservoir into Portomarin. When the reservoir was built, the town was relocated to higher ground–it’s current location. The historical buildings were taken apart and rebuilt stone by stone. You can still see the numbers on the stones today.
This is our best chance of being in the documentary. The crews were set up on top of the stairs and along the road filming us all the way in. I tried to look pious and solemn while still making sure to not look directly at the cameras–I think it was some of my finest film work to date. I offered to sign releases, but no one seemed too interested–it must be considered public domain in Europe.
It was a little later than we had hoped to get into Portomarin but we still had plenty of time. We headed to the downtown area for some lunch. It was really getting hot now. Even Shaun decided to not sit in the sun while we ate. By the time we got done, two of the three of us decided they had had enough for the day. I’m pretty sure Pam was one of the two, but she tried to fake us out by putting on her boots and acting like she was good to go. Shaun and I didn’t buy her act so we all agreed to stay in town and stay “on book” for the remainder of the trip (meaning we would stay in the towns recommended by John Brierly in his guidebook). While we were making our decision, Julija wandered into town and joined us. She decided to stick around as well.
Now we just had to decide where we were going to stay. Shaun said there was an Albergue with a micro-brewery, so that was our first choice. Unfortunately, it was full. Right next to it was a real bonanza–an air conditioned bar with an adjacent pension/albergue. We ended up with a 4 person room right next to a bathroom for only 10 Euros each.
We broke the usual routine of shower, laundry, and settle in to enjoy the AC in the bar. The afternoon passed surprisingly quickly. By the time we did get settled in and cleaned up, it was time for supper again. We headed back to the square to find the whole crowd from earlier plus Brenda and later, Anton. This actually works out for the best as we will get to finish with the people we have hiked with the most. It looks like we will all be finishing on Friday.