Day: March 23, 2022

It was a cold and windy walk today. I’m not sure why, but we didn’t mind too much. Uh, well, maybe because we only walked 5.8 miles. We heard from our friend Henry and my mom Berniece that it snowed 2 inches in Albuquerque last night!! So warmer here than there. If I had been home I would have been too wimpy to go out in the cold, even for my usual 2 mile walk. That’s one thing I love about the Camino.

We have another lovely place to stay this afternoon and tonight. A private room in an albergue. Casa Nuñez (aka A Reboleira) in Fonfría. We will have a group meal tonight. There are only 2 others staying here that we know about so far. Most people at this point carry on walking to Triacastela where we will walk to tomorrow.

This room is typical in that it is costing us 40 euros, or 20 euros each. People here pay 12 euros each for the dormitory in the albergue where a number of people share a room with bunk beds. These private rooms are quite a deal. They also include a private bathroom.

Galicia is the northwest region in Spain, just above Portugal. We are now walking in Galicia. We had mentioned before that if you contract covid in Galicia, all your medical bills will be covered. I found this brochure (photo below) in today’s Albergue that says they will also cover expenses for repatriation and for a stay required by a quarantine! We have to get a covid test before returning to the US. We are thinking we should get one before we leave Galicia because if it should turn out to be positive, this is THE place to be.

There are other reasons to come here. It is a beautiful place to visit. It’s green and lush. Not what you probably think of when you think of Spain. It’s been compared to Ireland and it shares Celtic roots with Ireland. (Bagpipes are not uncommon.) (Charlie says they are all too common in Santiago.) Galicia’s northern and western border is the Atlantic Ocean. Innumerable beaches and gorgeous shore line. Wonderful cities and towns.

We walked into a tiny town this morning, hoping the one bar would be open for breakfast, and heard quite loud music. We thought “gosh, is that coming from the bar?” But no, it was some outdoor workers who had brought music with them. I don’t think this man minded that I took a video of him enjoying the music (might take a minute to load, hang in here till you see him really get going dancing, you might have to click start):

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yryBHEpqYKZ17qEo9

Just across the street some other men were laying flat stones to build quite a pretty wall.

Unfortunately, the bar was not open. We kept walking and two miles later found one that was open. Shortly after we got there it filled up with pilgrims! We are starting to see lots of fellow peregrinos.