Day 42: Nothing happened today. I swear!

Oct 28: I meant to get started hiking at 9:00 near sunrise, but somehow I didn’t get started until closer to 9:20. Not an auspicious start for the 34 kilometer day I had planned.

The weather was clear and sunny, and surprisingly warm. Highs were expected to hit in the high 70s. It’s the end of October! In Galicia! I should be freezing my butt off! This could not be normal.

I stopped twice for an hour-long break. The first stop was at a cafe in Aguapesada, which I remembered from my first Camino walk four years earlier. I was walking with Karolina at the time—oblivious at the time that we’d become such good friends or that we’d ever see each other again—and we stopped at the cafe for a rest. Initially we sat down on the outdoor patio, but within minutes, a torrential downpour pushed us inside. The squall passed by within an hour and by the time we left, it had stopped and we continued our walk, and we felt fortunate having missed walking in the rain completely.

The contrast between my memories then and now seemed astonishing. It was about the same time of year in October, but it was so cold and wet then, and so hot and sunny today.

My second rest was in Negreira where I stopped for a snack and a drink at a restaurant along the trail. I remembered the town from my first hike through, but I didn’t remember the restaurant.

But for the most part, nothing really happened.

I stopped for the night at an alburgue in Vilaserio. The town had a couple of alburgues and I tried the first one I saw and it turned out that I was the only person in that alburgue. I had it completely to myself! It was astounding to me. The trail had been so crowded with pilgrims, walking in both directions. Where did they all go? Actually, looking down the street, I could see another alburgue where a large group of pilgrims lingered and lounged around, so I guess everyone decided to hit the other place instead.

Admittedly, the alburgue I stayed in was dark with a dungeon-like feel, but it’s not like I’d be spending much time here. I didn’t arrive until 6:00 in the evening—a bit later than I had hoped—and I’d leave at the crack of dawn. I’d be happy to take the dungeon-like room for myself over a bright room packed to the gills with pilgrims. =)

This was the first residential house I saw decorated for Halloween! All of the other decorations I saw were in commercial stores. =)

I didn't really trust the message, but I took a sniff anyhow.... I didn't smell anything unusual, though!

This wagon is full of corn. You can see a bit of it through the side of the tailgate.