Hello again Laurie, I thought the signage was quite good overall but in some places there were too many signs giving directions for lots of local walks. The caminos were varied and enjoyable, but due to time restraints to get back home, very long days (Soy Tortuga ) and the solitariness of it, It all became a blur.
When I reached Burgos I sent you a personal conversation mentioning this. I have resent this to you. It would be nice to go back and do these caminos at a more leisurely pace.
In 2015 I walked from Lisbon to Santiago - not one drop of rain. This time I took a chance and brought a very light raincoat,- it backfired on me. Also by mistake I left my waterproof overtrousers at home. I later bought some more plus a small umbrella. I began to love that umbrella.
Some key words were: caught in Storms with nowhere to shelter, antibiotics for a respiratory infection, sleeping in a church porch ( and glad of it ). On my caminos I bring an ultralight tent for emergencies and might only use it once or not at all. On this occasion 4 times.
As usual, my interaction with the locals and their acts of kindness by far outweighed the down points. I was like a drowned rat and an Artes-bar worker opened up another room, switched on an electric heater that used wood chippings, gave me blankets and dried all my clothes.
In Burgos and the rest of the
camino Frances, until I turned off at Ponferrada onto the Camino de Invierno, I was overcome by the amount of Pilgrims. It was like being in the Sahara desert and then going to London. 2005 was the last time I did the
camino Frances. An analogy of these stages, to me, was like that of a Hamlet then consisting of one bar but now 3 hostels and three bars. ( Hello Hollywood ).
About 10 years ago, in winter with a car, I was in that part of the Camino de Invierno around Chantada, Monforte de Lemos, Rodeiro, Quiroga etc.
This time in a hamlet, an elderly lady offered to make me a hot sandwich with homemade bread. 10 minutes later when it arrived, with a glass of wine,the bread was as hard as the hob of Hell. It took a while but I ate the lot. She then offered me homemade chorizo, which no amount of chewing would be sufficient, it was like rubber. I had to secretly throw it away.( Back home I'm a vegetarian but, on the caminos, in Spain, I eat EVERYTHING. ) Then she let out of the bag that there was a place in the pueblicita you could stay for free, which I did but it meant sleeping on cardboard and onion sacks on the floor. She was a lovely lady, I give her a kiss on either cheek.
In A Rua de Valdeorras I stayed at the house of Asun and her mother. Later that night Asun was calling my name many times. I ran downstairs to find Asun leaning over her mother, who was seated in a chair. I supported the head of her mother whilst Asun administered some of her homoeopathic preperations to her. One of her relatives was called and 10 minutes later he arrived. He managed to calm the mother and took her back to bed. The mother was having a panic attack. I loved the Camino de Invierno.
You have already had my updates for the Camino de Invierno which we have since discussed in conversations before I uploaded this post. Cheers, Mick.
