Late start again — I didn’t get out of bed until 8 a.m. I didn’t have a good night’s sleep; the albergue bunk beds were uncomfortable, and our Italian roommate was snoring and coughing because he had a cold. I managed to get breakfast, get dressed, and head out by 8:40 a.m.
It was cold but manageable in shorts and a T-shirt. After leaving town, we were on a long, straight road for nearly 10 km. It was relatively free of pilgrims, mainly because we were late. The road passed through vast fields of corn and ploughed land. I caught up with Dusty for a while, then stopped at the 10 km marker for more coffee and tortilla. About another 2 km later, the alternate route ended and rejoined the main Camino.
At 20 km, I stopped for tuna salad and more coffee.
The terrain then changed from flat to hilly, with stony dirt tracks that were sore on the feet. I got talking with an American who was cycling the route — he was doing about 60 km a day and expected to finish in around 16 days. It sounded interesting.
As we came off the final hill, we got great views of Arzúa and the huge cathedral that dominates this Roman town.
I had reserved a place at the Albergue Franciscano Santa María de los Ángeles, run by Franciscan monks and only a year old. The rooms are all twin rooms, and by chance I’m sharing again with Dusty.
Stats
Today
Distance: 32.84 km
Elevation: 261m
Duration: 6h29
Totals
Distance: 55.8(530.33) Km
Elevation: 510(8,528) m
Duration: 11h02(113h20)
Tomorrow I head for Foncebadón which is 26km. We have finished the Meseta and are now about to start a gentle climb from 700 to 1,450m
