Rain, rain go away, come back another day (in November, but you can leave the clouds). Today started with a quick 5m walk at which point we realized that it was drizzling hard enough that we needed to put our backpack waterproof covers on.  After that we walked another 10m and realized the rain was getting harder so we put our raincoats on too.  Finally, we got on the trail and kept going.  The walk out of Ponferrada and the suburbs was nice but always on tarmac or cement. In fact, we walked at least the first 10km before we saw a dirt track. 

We had our breakfast #1 in the first place along the Camino that was opened. It turned out to be our third visit to the same restaurant at the 3km mark in the suburb of Compostilla.  They have a steady stream of pilgrims all morning, likely every day and they help the restaurant to stay in business, at least for the last 13 years.

Still the rain came down in a light drizzle off and on.  By today’s definition of “off and on” means every five minutes, the rain changed from a drizzle to a light misting or back again.  We walked straight through the towns of Columbrianos and Fuentes Nueva before stopping for breakfast #2. The woman that ran this lovely cafe was obviously a little upset that so many pilgrims were coming into the place with wet gear on, their bags and sticks, and all of them dripping on the floor.  Some pilgrims try to use bathrooms and leave but the majority will buy a single juice or croissant to justify the use of the toilets.  This place though was a little fancier. This woman was trying to sell regular breakfasts so I ordered eggs and a chorizo sausage  and two juices.  I just felt bad for her.

Breakfast #3 was a doozy.  While I was waiting my turn to order in a bar in Cacabelos, the guy in front of me was a local person who was known to the bartender.  The guy confused the old bartender and the bartender poured one beer too many. That extra beer had a lot of head (foam) on it too.  Of course the patron refused to take the beer so it was just pushed aside which allowed the foam to settle.  When it was my turn to order, I asked to a tortilla to share, a cafe con leche and, instead of a Fanta, I asked for a cerveza con limón for myself, then I pointed to the spare beer and mimed topping it up with lemon Fanta. The barman was shocked because that is not the proper way to pour a cerveza con limón.  He is a businessman though and recognized the reduction in wastage was a good idea.  Later, when I went to pay, there were a lot of dirty dishes and glasses on the bar. Being a bit OCD, I just started sorting everything so that it was easier for the barman to clean. Plates were stacked by size, glasses were grouped properly, forks, spoons and knives were bathed and trash was in another pile.  It entertained other local patrons but the barman was happy.    Finally, when it was time to pay, he added up the bill, said thanks for helping with the dishes and extra beer and then said that there was no charge.  I insisted on paying which worked but I was happy he appreciated the help.  Then, of course, Melanie started bussing the few tables that had not brought their own dishes to the bar.  Clearing your own table is a pilgrim tradition but since it is not necessarily a Spanish tradition, many Spaniard pilgrims have trouble with it.  We help, just because we can, it’s a nice thing to do for the overworked barman.

Speaking of being nice and doing the right thing, Melanie worked some of her magic again today.  Between breakfast #2 and #3, we came up behind a small woman who appeared to be really struggling to walk.  Melanie looked over at her as we were passing and recognized her as a woman from China who we have seen and spoken to briefly before.  She is walking (sort of) with her husband but he walks faster and usually waits for her in the next town. Today though, the woman was not only struggling to walk but she was crying.  Melanie immediately put an arm abound her shoulder and said that she will walk slowly with her for a while.   I walked a little ahead to give them space to talk but Melanie stayed with her all the way to the next town where she handed her off to the husband (who apparently once again left the wife behind while we were eating).  Melanie and the lady spoke about lots of different things but the funny part was that the lady said she had taken medicine for her legs just before we met her.  As they walked along, Melanie noticed the pace was picking up faster and faster.  By the time we came close to the next town, they went zooming past me and Melanie looked like she was half-running.  I need that medicine!

After Cacabelos, the trail is about 9km through the towns of Pieros and Valtuille de Arribe.  It’s possible to just continue straight up the street after Pieros and save 2km on the day’s total mileage. I was a little tempted but I remembered my lesson from the other day.  Anyway, we were both strong and without issues at the time so we took the longer, snecic route through the vineyards and the lovely old village.  The quiet dirt track and autumn’s outstanding rainbow of colors were well worth the extra kilometers.

We are off to dinner now so I’ll sign off now. I’ll just say though that we have a great hotel room tonight, perhaps the best so far.  I may even sleep through the night. 

Peace y’all. Goodnight George, Leo and Stella. We love you all.