Chapter 21: Carrion to Ledigos

Today…was wet. Like, 24 kms in pouring rain kind of wet. We left in the morning with high hopes and no clue where we were going.

The first chunk of our walk was rain and hail for 17 kms with no towns, or places to stop. We’ve been using an app to track our camino progress and we were warned but didn’t heed any of it. Becky left her hiking boots in the last town in favor of hiking sandals, which were far better for her feet, and so did this portion in SANDALS…LIKE A CRAZY PERSON. Seriously though, I can’t explain how difficult this walk was today. It was absolutely pouring. Everything we had was drenched, my pants were sticking to my legs, and our rain jackets, while effective, are only as good as their coverage…which was about hip height.

Becky loved it. She was in Hog heaven. Her circulation and enthusiasm is super impressive.

Finally, after our 17 km journey, we arrived in a small town, which everyone wanted to stop at. There were little areas set up to dry your things and such, and we sat down for a plate of spaghetti and a couple of coffees and a brief chat with Gary, who had walked ahead of us, before we gathered the best of ourselves for the last 6 kms. The Cafe we stopped in was playing the Best of Bob Dylan too, which made it even cooler.

All hard journeys must eventually reach their end point though, and to be honest, Becky and I set records for our last 6kms of the day. She was on fire, practically running. Again…super impressive.

When we reached Ledigos, the place we agreed to stay for the night, we were greeted by an Albergue which was fantastic. It was a little bar, then a VERY cool series of little holes in the walls in which to sleep.

We set up our beds and then headed to the bar with Gary, and were shortly thereafter joined by a guy named Nick, a British fellow who told us in great length about Eurovision, a contest we’ve never really been aware of. During this lecture…we got drunk…both of us…it wasn’t wise.

Dinner was delicious, but…had more wine and beer with it. Becky ate everything from the menu that I wouldn’t touch. Fried Sardines. Amazing. It’s that fish based culture she comes from…I’ll never understand. Nick seemed to understand. Thankfully Gary took my side, and agreed that some things should just be left in the ocean.

As I write this…I won’t lie…the beer is still hitting me pretty hard. I’m probably going to drink a liter of water and go to sleep. Wish me luck tomorrow. We are officially going to be at the halfway point tomorrow night!