May 12, 2016 Thursday

Astorga to Rabanal del Camino, 22 kilometers in the rain    Walking Day #21

Today it rained, and this is no longer the plain in Spain; we are out of the meseta, the plain in Spain. We left Astorga in the rain, and it rained almost all of the way into Rabanal del Camino. Thankfully, it was a relatively flat 22 kilometers today.

I left the hotel in Astorga with new friends, John and Donna from Colorado, and Kelly from Manitoba, Canada. It was raining steadily before we left the hotel, so we all put on our rain ponchos, and either rain pants or gaiters. I have gaiters, not a fashion statement, but they will help keep water out of my boots. We walked together out of Astorga, and because of the rain, there was no incentive to stop at the main cathedral and take pictures. The unstated goal was to keep moving and get to Rabanal del Camino as soon as practical and get dry.

Here I am in a rain poncho and gaiters,both bright blue. And they worked; I was dry except for just above my knees to just below my knees. Later, the pants can be cleaned by unzipping the bottom half of the convertible pants and washing only the bottom half of the legs. Unfortunately, my new gloves are not waterproof as my old gloves were, so my hands ended up being cold much of the day.

The dirt Camino path become mud pretty quickly when the a steady rain comes for most of a day. And because this has been a very wet spring in Spain, the ground is already well-saturated, so we get mud.

Even with the rain and the mud, the walk was pleasant. It was very quiet, as we were away from the main highway road, and we were walking along a forest.

But at times, the mud was fairly pervasive, and there were no good options for traversing these puddles. To the left and right in the grass one can sink ankle-deep into the water, so the best option is probably to go down the middle and hope the mud is not too deep.

The adjacent forest changed to these deciduous trees that had not yet started growing leaves this spring. It was very winter-like, and given that we were wet and cold already, it fit our moods.

Approaching Rabanal del Camino, the rain lightened, and then stopped. This Camino way marker with the rainbow was just about right, and we were very glad to be in a town and near a hot shower.

My hotel in Rabanal del Camino. After getting a hot shower, changing clothes, washing some things in the tub and sink, I rested, then went to the local church at 7:00 PM for Gregorian chanting. It was a very moving and beautiful ceremony. There will be a pilgrims’ blessing at 9:30 PM, too late for me after a long, tiring day walking in the rain.

Tomorrow we will walk up to Cruz de Ferro, the highest point on the Camino de Santiago at 1505 meters elevation, and a very long day at 34 kilometers (over 21 miles). It will feel much longer due to two long uphills and a longer downhill.

If you watched the movie “The Way” then Cruz de Ferro is the large pile of rocks with the cross on the pole in the middle where most pilgrims leave a stone as a token of love or remembrance. It is a good time to reconnect to the reasons for walking the Camino.

Next: Cruz de Ferro, here we come!