Return to site

Day 25:  I can’t stand the rain

Supa dupa fly attempts to stay dry (Candace)

Villaperde to Barres

Distance: 24.9 miles (40 kilometers-boom!)

Total Ascent:  70 meters

Difficulty:  2

Calories Burned: 5,110

Wow.  Today was a long day.  Andrew and I set off at 7:30 with the goal of reaching 30 kilometers (we have to average 30 kilometers per day for the next 7 days to reach Santiago in time to get to Lisbon for Pride on June 25th) and found a hotel a few kilometers beyond, so we decided today would be a stretch day.

We didn’t expect that today would be hiked in the rain, through the mud and large, menacing puddles.  One said puddle sucked Andrew in and swallowed his boot before he regained balance, and for the rest of the day, we both continued to trade out socks, pour baby powder in our shoes and cover our toes in plastic bags to try to keep our feet dry.  With no luck.  In fact, at one point, Andrew had to hike a few miles in his flip flops to let his feet dry out.

You see, wet feet on a hike are the kiss of death.  When your feet get wet, you are susceptible to blisters, athletes foot and foot pain for the foreseeable future.  Needless to say, today made us worry.

And then, to add insult to injury, I booked a rural house online for tonight (Fridays and Saturdays require reservations in advance as places tend to fill up) that boasted “great location on the Camino,” only to find out that it is several kilometers off the Camino, and that no paved roads even reach it.  So by 6pm today after 40 kilometers of hiking, I was wet from head to toe, yet fuming.

Hoping for dryer roads tomorrow.