May 29th, 2017
Gontan to Baamonde (Alburgue de Perigrino)
Km walked: 40Km total: 714
Well, only 100 km left. Today’s walk wasn’t too bad and we mostly stayed on dirt and gravel roads. We had a long day because we decided we wanted to finish the trail in 4 days instead of 5. So much for taking it slow.
We woke up early and were hiking before 7 as the sun was just rising. We got a glimpse of interesting light through the morning fog and clouds. The first 20k went by quickly and we were in Vilalba by 11:00 AM. We bought some groceries for the next few days and were back out on the trail by 12:30, stopping to have some lunch on a bench in town in true hiker trash fashion. Other pilgrims don’t seem to do this, and instead stop at cafes for lunch and cram down bocadillos (a large, Spanish sandwhich) in a more civilized manner. But not us. You can see us sprawled on the street eating Doritos and making meat and cheese sandwiches ourselves, with absolutely no glimmer of shame in our eyes as people offer us unsatisfactory stares while passing us by.
The clouds soon rolled back in and thunder boomed in the distance. This was day 4 of storms now and all the rain was getting really old. It started to rain as we left town and popped up our umbrellas to ward it off.
We soon found ourselves in a downpour and huddled under a big elm tree for cover. The storm blew over fairly quickly and we were again on our way, sun poking through the clouds.
We arrived in Baamonde around 6 and went to the Alburgue, the largest one we’ve stayed in so far, with 98 beds. When we checked in, we were guests 23 and 24, and were assigned those bed numbers. Upstairs there were about 50 beds all in a single open room. Numbers 21 and 22 were the only beds occupied, and it was strange having been assigned beds right next to them when there was an entire room full of beds with nobody occupying them. After an hour, only two more people checked in, and they were assigned 25 and 26. We asked the lady at the front desk if we could go to a different bed. She told us that is how they have to be assigned, but said, “I don’t know what happens when I leave.” So, basically she didn’t care, but was required to assign the beds this way.
We ate dinner and took a shower, and another hour and a half went by with no other people arriving. It seemed a safe bet to move at this point, and we set up shop in bed 56 and 57, near a window and far away from anyone else. It’s a good spot.
Tomorrow we will try another 40 km. The weather is supposed to be nice again, which is a welcome change. It seemed like the region was trapped in a weather system it couldn’t get rid of. Hopefully sleep will come easy tonight. I haven’t been sleeping well and am very tired.
