We were a bit worried about the description of today’s walk. The guidebook said the first 8km was easy, but exposed, flat farm trails. That is exactly the tough conditions we had yesterday in the very hot and unrelenting sun. Today though, I gave up my battle to sleep and we headed out the door about two hours earlier than yesterday. That got us 7km to Samsol, partially in darkness and partially early morning dawn. It worked like a charm.
In Samsol, we stopped for a light second breakfast and sodas as well as a toilet break. One hundred other pilgrims were there with the same needs so the one toilet always had a queue of 5-10 people waiting outside either patiently or cross-legged. I had forgotten that we usually go to the second bar / grocery store to get our refreshments.
Including Samsol’s twin village across the river, Torres del Rio, the rest of the walk was described as shadeless but frequent ”knee-trembling” ascents and descents. So it could be like yesterday afternoon but on steroids. Oh boy. It turned out to have lots of steep, knee-trembling ascents and descents but more shade and we finished the walk by about noon, before the worst heat.
The early start and shorter day worked well for us both. Neither of us climb or descent as fast as we did 14 years ago (or even three years ago) but Melanie had her energy back today so all was good. Wait, as I type this waiting for the clothes to dry in the laundromat, I am reminded of one complaint. Viana’s only laundromat is 850m from our room today. Since Viana is on a hill, that means we had an extra 1.7km to walk including a big descent and climb. That is mean but it keeps the old town in character, I guess.
We met several more pilgrims today including Meng at from Hong Kong. We ran into the scuba diving woman from across the Straits of Johore again as well. We seem to be running into a lot the same Americans couples still but they seem less approachable. I walked into town with a Scottish woman who will finish her Camino Frances tomorrow with a short walk into Logroño. She stared 12 years ago and has been doing different short sections almost every year and the walk into Logroño is the final missing link between St Jean Pied de Portland Santiago de Compostela.
Talk about being tired, we just walked back from the laundromat to our pension It’s 5:00pm and there is still an hour left of siesta time. The laundromat is unattended so it’s always open. The bars, cafes, restaurants, stores, pharmacies, etc. won’t open for an hour. Apparently, pensiones won’t either and I realized I left my key to the front door of the pension upstairs in the room. Buggers. We at least have chairs to sit on as we wait for someone to wake up and come out of the door. I’m the dummy but I’m blaming the walk for getting me so tired that I screwed up.
We got inside after a 30 minute wait and sure enough, the keys were safe and sound in the outside keyhole of our locked room door. The world is still spinning round. By the way, we had few choices for beds in Viana. This is the cheapest private en-suite room we have ever stayed in on a Camino. It’s very nice but petite. I use the word “petite” because I think that is French for smaller than small. Our bedroom and bathroom combíned are 95 square feet (8.8s.m.). The bathroom, closet and front door have to be opened in a certain order or you can’t get to where you want to go. The shower is separated from the rest of the bathroom by a glass wall. The opening to enter it is 14 inches (35cm) across and a big step up. Build yourself a model of that and see how you can fit through. Remember the floor is wet and slippery. I think it took me five minutes to get in without getting hurt. Getting out was slightly easier due to gravity.
Overheard in the cafe this morning… a foreign pilgrim asked the bartender “what is the difference between cappuccino and cafè con leche?” His reply: “fifty cents”.
Heave y’all. Goodnight Stella, Leo & George.
