May 26th, 2017
Tapia de Casariego to Ribadeo
Km walked: 12
Km total: 621
I woke up and stepped outside to see the sunrise over the ocean, the first I’ve seen on the trip. I snapped a picture and then got my things together.
I asked Carolyn on our way out of the Alburgue, “How did you sleep?” I had slept pretty good, and for the first time ever on the trip, the Alburgues didn’t seem like such a horrible place to sleep.
She looked at me disgruntled, said: “Terrible,” and then continued to walk onward.
It was best not to press further into such situations, and I followed her out of the city.
The morning was covered in fog and mist once we got out of the city. We didn’t have much of a plan for the day and agreed once we got to the large city of Ribadeo, 12 km away, we would make a decision on what to do. We needed to do laundry, bad, but also wanted to do more miles. We couldn’t realistically do both, so our options were to stay in town at a Pension or hit the pavement and remain a hot, stinky mess.
It started to rain as we walked through a large open farm. I checked the weather and it called for rain all day, 2 inches of it. I deployed my trusty polka dot umbrella to ward off the passing shower.
“Let’s stay in town,” I said to Carolyn.
“Okay,” she said in a grumpy McGrumpster tone.
“You stink and need to wash your shirt,” I said. “You’re starting to smell like sour milk.”
“At least I don’t smell like a moldy baguette,” she jested back, a smile breaking on her lips.
I knew she would come back around. She just needed to get an appreciable distance away from the Alburgue.
We crossed over a large bridge into Ribadeo, signaling our traverse into the final Province of our Camino, Galicia. It began raining and then pouring. We found a nice cafe and sat for awhile drinking coffee and tea, and watched the world unload a bucket of water into the grey world.
We checked into Hostal Linares as it began raining harder. We had made the right decision, it seemed. Laundry followed and then dinner, and now the sun is shining. Strange weather today in Spain.
Tomorrow we head onward- only about 120 miles left. It’s exciting being close to the end. I think I’ve experienced Spain- and I’m satisfied with that.
