The Rain Is Not Mainly On The Plain

Today, it was mainly in our boots.

We have arrived in the province of Galicia, and now have fewer than 100 miles to Santiago de Compostela.  Even if we didn't have a map to tell us that we were in Galicia, the weather today made it abundantly clear - it rained all day.  As our guidebook warned us, the mountains of galicia are the first thing the winds off the Atlantic have encountered in 3,000 miles.  This Means moisture.  It's quite an experience slogging across a mountain range for 11 miles in the rain.  It actually was not too bad except for two spots where it got a little muddy, and when the wind blew for a bit.  The hill that we thought would be killer was not so bad, and I'm glad to say that was able to do the whole thing without pain or swelling in his leg.

Our abode this evening is at the top of a pass in the road into Galicia, at an altitude of some 4,300 feet. I am told that the view is fantastic, if only the fog and rain would lift long enough to see it.  There is nothing else around besides our hostel, so we have enjoyed a quiet afternoon.  This part of Spain is very similar to Ireland, Northern England, and Scotland in terms of terrain, weather, and Celtic culture and history.  It's quite different from the Spain I know, and the local dialect of Spanish mixed with Portguese and ancient Gallego can be infuriating at times.

I believe we are the only people staying in the hostal tonight, thus we have had lots of interesting conversation with our host.  He cooked us an excellent vegetable soup, with the veggies coming from his own garden.  I have a feeling the pork chops came from his own pig, too, but im OK with that, especially because he plopped a fried egg on top of them.  Fried eggs are right up there with bacon in Brian's Rules of Food.  We also enjoyed homemade Napolitanos, a chocolate pastry roll that were about the size of an iPad.

We've spent the afternoon in the bar downstairs - it is fascinating to watch both pilgrims and locals go in and out, and listen to their conversations and their stories.  You really understand a place better, I think, when you experience it in this way.

We are in the bar because this is where the fire, and therefore the heat, is.  Spaniards are rather obnoxious about things like heat and electricity.  Even though it is July, it feels like March, and the heat (via radiators in the room) have been turned off for the season.  This means my room is probably 60 degrees, at the warmest. This is quite a contrast from a few days back when the opposite was true - no air conditioning and getting cool enough to sleep was also a problem! Energy is very expensive here - the cheapest gasoline is currently $8/gallon - so the Spanish have become very adept at conservation. Years ago, we had a friend who never drove with his headlights on in Madrid, "to save the battery". Seriously.  His argument was that were enough city lighting to see.

There is an electronics chain here, similar to a Best Buy, called Media Markt.  I love their slogan, "Yo no soy tonto". Translation: I'm not stupid.  If you have to tell people this...

One of the things dad asked me to do before I left the States was buy him a memory card for his camera.  It's a good thing I did - he has taken over 700 pictures since we started the Camino.  It seems like most of them are of Mom and me turned around and looking at him on the trail.  I'm not sure how us standing back looking at him in front of nothing discernible on the trail is going to be different in picture one rather than picture 683, but I suppose it makes him happy.

Tomorrow, we have 13 miles to go...all downhill!  The weather is supposed to be better, but I am not holding my breath!