OdysseusSympath
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances: February 2020.
Hi all, I walked the CF in February 2020 while covid was ravaging Italy and prodding Spain. I had time constraints and often did two "stages" a day, I got shin splints pretty bad and kept walking. I am not a fast walker, I was always the last to arrive at the albergue (which wasn't a problem that time of year). SJPDP to Finisterre in 26 days. I don't recommend that pace to anyone but have zero regrets. I'm planning my second Camino now, going to walk Del Norte starting on January 30 in Bayonne and finishing in Muxia this time having 36 days. I don't expect much to be open and don't care, you always find your way on the Camino, I have never heard anyone not finding their way, just people who never read Meditations complaining about the way that they found. One foot in front of the other and you'll cry in front a cathedral or the ocean.... whichever you hold sacred because it's over.
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. We took the ferry to Santander and continued on to Boo de Pielagos where we arrived at dusk at the Piedad Albergue, stuffing our faces in the associated tavern with big burgers with all the fixings complete with bacon and an egg(6€ each). It was a relatively flat walk in good weather, i.e. wearing sunglasses and no rain jacket 
, the high was 14°
) , he showed up a little while later to take payment and show me the ropes. I was able to do my laundry there as well, although I had to get creative in drying it. There was also some food for a donativo available.
). Almost all the snow had melted as I had hoped, so water was the order of the day today, buckets of it. Water came down and sideways, leaving A Fonsarada you go up again and over another "Alto" de something or other, there are ruins of a Hospital up there I took shelter from the pelting rain for a minute, all I had to do was stand next to a lee wall. Coming down the other side, the wind calmed as the altitude dropped. Maybe 2 or 3km before A Lastra there is a church with a gate that appeared locked but my velociraptor self had try the handle and I was able to take a dry snack break in the covered entrance. When I came out the gate again there were two other hikers/pilgrims? and their support vehicle. The driver of the support vehicle said it was impassable about a km ahead and offered to give me a lift to A Lastra, showing me a video he had taken of a torrent crossing the Way. I didn't think it looked impassable, declined the lift and went ahead, I was able to leap it, albeit getting one foot on the bank and one in the drink. After A Lastra the heavy rains/snowmelt had maxed out the drainage ditches and there was lots of overflow so it was climbing a bank here, jumping through the lesser of two puddles there for a few kms. The first coffee break/open café was O Cádavo, where I sat dripping, watching sideways rain, the gusts opening and closing the café door. I wrapped up again, mentally preparing myself and continued on my way to Castroverde, my destination at the municipal albergue there. As soon as I stepped out the rain stopped and except for scattered showers it was dry(nothing was dry
), the sun even came out for a bit. The Way was full of puddles and near Castroverde, between two walls the path had standing water from wall to wall. Providence presented a farmer on a tractor at that moment and he gave me a lift on the back through the 50m pond(the Camino provides).
. The only open albergue was the municipal where there was probably 20 or so pilgrims. It didn't rain and I arrived with dry feet. 
and unlike 
