Mio el Camino de Santiago de Compostela - 6

Day 6


It's dark outside and it's raining. It's a bit cold. Yesterday was almost like summer. I could see that the mountains were covered with clouds. The landlady insisted that I stay for another day. Before noon, the sky cleared and she showed me the mountains capped with snow. That clearing didn't last long. Soon it was covered again with clouds.


Although it's still raining, I went out and walked around. That walk made me realize that my shoes were not suitable for wet weather. Reluctantly, I bought the cheapest waterproof shoes I could find. But for EU57 a pair, they were not cheap for me at all.


Since it was raining, I spent a lot of time in the church today, thinking about nothing. The locals were busy preparing the church for Easter Sunday services. I remembered my high school days. Being a parish choir member, I was quite active in our local church activities in those days.


I found a local, traditional looking French restaurant. After having a very nice dinner, I went back to the B&B. I decided that no matter what weather tomorrow brings, I would continue my trip. I am 2 days behind my itinerary. I was given a visa with only the exact number of days to complete the Compostela, not another leasure day to spare.
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Mio el Camino de Santiago de Compostela - 5

Day 5

I woke up and remembered it's Good Friday.

I went downstairs to eat breakfast at 8 and found out I was the only one left. All the other pilgrims staying in the B&B have already left to start their walk. The old landlady told me that breakfast is supposed to be at 7. I wondered, she didn't tell me that the day before. Or maybe she did, I just didn't get it. I thought I should have practiced a little French.

I went out after that simple breakfast, toasted French bread with jam and café au lait. I brought my bicycle to a repair shop. I also bought some water and food for tomorrow. I went for lunch. The sunny weather brought me to crave for fish, but paella with shrimps and shellfish was the best that I got. Actually that was more than I craved for. I realized though that I was spending too much on food. My lunch cost me EU18.70.

Most of the shops were closed at this time so I went back to the B&B and took a nap until 3pm. When I woke up, I was thinking of something to do. Looking at my stuff, I trimmed it down to my most basic needs. A few kilos have been a burden, including the cute little bottles filled with spring water from Lourdes. So I was off to the post office to send my extra stuff to a hostel in Santiago de Compostela and I shed a hefty EU47.50 for postage. I headed back to the bicycle shop. My bicycle was fixed for a surprisingly cheap EU13. The sky has gone cloudy but I still rode around to take some pictures. I also went to the citadel, the town’s historical pride, and then stopped by the local church.

I was hoping to witness some Christian tradition to happen in the church for this Good Friday. Unfortunately, there was none. Or maybe I kept missing the right timing. So I got back to the B&B when it got dark and the landlady greeted me with, I assumed, something about the circuit breaker. I did not understand French but she was showing me her washing machine, the switch, the electrical wiring and the heater in my room and she would say something like "bang". I could sense that she was blaming me for something that happened while I was gone. Again I wondered, how could that be my fault when I am gone at the time it happened? Now I'm sure I should have studied French.

I was in bed by 7pm. I was ready for tomorrow's leg.

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