It was another day for wearing the poncho since a light rain was falling as I headed out from Hospital de la Cruz around 6:15 AM to find the next village for breakfast. Shortly after seeing this slate roof old building, and passing four other villages with no food services, I stopped for breakfast in Portos at the A Paso Formiga cafe/bar.
While having breakfast, I met Jim, who was also from Alaska and worked for Alaska Air as a flight attendant for the past 30 years. He was also an Inuit native from Kotzebo who now lives in Anchorage.
We walked for a while together and I told him some of my family connections to Alaska grandparents who taught there in Cordova and Seward. My mom and dad met at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and got married there. My wife was born in Anchorage. He was familiar with the Jesse Lee home for boys in Seward, where my grandfather was principal before World War II, and they left for the lower 48 after the war broke out.
The trail ran alongside the road for a while and then it dropped down off the road toward the woods and that’s when it started getting muddy.
After breakfast, the trail ran alongside the highway until we came to the woods—and the mud and water on the trail.
The trail got more difficult as it continued to rain and the trail became muddy and muddler. Jim stopped for a break and I continue on.
While slogging along in the mud, I met up with Dan from the UK. He felt compelled to tell me the sad story of his family‘s life. His father was now alcoholic, his mother now has dementia, and his sister was locked up for a long time because of her schizophrenia she went under a test drug treatment that worked enough so she was released. His sister now takes care of his mother with dementia. He seem to take a lot of joy in hiking and meeting others to share his story with since his other family members still aren’t talking to their father and not helping with the mother. Lots of stories are shared out here on the Camino Santiago that may not have been shared with your friends or family.
It was funny when we started hitting long stretches of muddy patches. At first most people were very cautious, trying to walk to the edge of the trail, but eventually they got their feet wet, and like me just started walking through the mud and water. It was kind of like being a kid again stomping through the mud.
At the end of the muddy portion, the paved stone portion was covered with 2 inches of rushing water and ended up, pooling in the flat area where the water was above your ankles for about 50 yards. At least it cleaned the mud off of your shoes.
It was still raining, but the trail was no longer muddy, but went along an unused road all the way into Melide.
On the walk into town, I decided to stay at a hotel so I could get the mud off my clothes. As I was approaching the hotel, I spotted a commercial laundry which I ended up using to wash everything, including my muddy shoes, after I checked into the hotel.
I found the Xaneiro hotel on booking.com for €60. When I went to the desk, I asked the receptionist if she could give me a better rate if I didn’t use booking. She gave it to me for €40.
After a hot shower, I put on my walking shorts/swimsuit, parka and flip-flops while I washed and dried everything else, including my shoes. It was €5 for the wash which included soap automatically dispensed, and €3 for 21 minutes of the dryer. Boy, did I smell good after that.
I had an uninspired pilgrim fish dinner with lots of bones to pick through hidden in the breading at the restaurant attached to the hotel and bar.
I then enjoyed the luxury and privacy of the hotel room for the night.
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