Day 32 (Saturday 8 June) 68 kilometres to Santiago. I talked briefly with Sydney Hans and Slovenia Igor in the afternoon yesterday, but they weren't in evidence at supper time, so I dined alone. The facilities for manually drying clothes were poor in the albergue, so I packed damp socks this morning. Drying clothes outside wasn't an option with the showery weather.
I neglected to mention that I encountered Vincent from Pamplona yesterday late morning. He has walked, in whole or in part, 6 Caminos. He says: "I like it out here; no politics, no religion, we are all in this together."
I'm away by 06:45, bound for Ribadiso, 26 kilometres away. The weather looks very much the same as the day before - low overcast, calm winds, and a temperature around 10 degrees. Sure enough, as I climb a hill on the outskirts of town, I feel a few raindrops. I pull up my ruck cover and don my rain jacket. A short while later a light rain begins to fall steadily, so I dig out my rain pants too. It doesn't last more than about an hour, but the clouds are hanging in the tops of the trees, so it looks as if it could start up again anytime. I leave my rain pants on until I stop for coffee in San Xulian.
There I meet Saya from Barrie, Ontario. She left St. Jean Pied de Port on the 17th of May, so she has been setting a very fast pace. Not quite as fast as first appearances, however, as she elected to take a bus for 65 kilometres around the built-up area near Leon. She is a marathoner and believed that walking the Camino would not be difficult. The first day over the Pyrenees was apparently a wake up call; walking long distances with a heavy ruck and running 42 kilometres are not the same thing. As we leave the cafe, she stops for a smoke break, so I carry on, after buying a banana (50 Euro cents this time).
Later in the morning, I run into Saya again and we fall into a discussion about job searching. She is looking for full time teaching work at the Community College level, but without success so far. I offer what I know about the hiring process, but I don't think that I'm telling her anything that she doesn't already know. When she stops for a sandwich in the outskirts of Melide, I top up my cash supply at a nearby ATM and press on.
Shortly after that I come across an older, grey-haired woman and a younger man (mother and son?) who are walking rather slowly. Small wonder; she is wearing black, fashion-leather flats, that have no heels. She'd look good in those at a diplomatic reception. She's going to land on her keister if the next downhill isn't perfectly dry. Now I think that I've seen everything in footwear. I also come across a rather well maintained house that is using a Basque grain silo as an objet d'art for their front yard and another with an artistic trail marker.
About 30 minutes before I stop in Ribadiso, I feel a few drops of rain. I don't bother with the rain pants, though. I've got some shelter from overhanging trees and I'm almost there. I raise the albergue at 13:00; about 6 hours and 15 minutes after starting out.
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