Day 31 Vilalba to Baamonde 20K

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I really enjoyed the stay in Vilalba, It was at a great hotel, La Parador. The towns has nothing great to see, but the hotel is a converted Castle and was great fun to stay in. The Camino from Vilalba is pretty boring. It is either on or within listening distance of the highway the entire way. There are two main Highways running parallel to the Camino, one of which is E 70, a major 4 lane freeway that does not allow walkers, cyclists, donkey carts or scooters. Then, there is E 624 which is a major commercial highway. The Camino zig zags back and forth across, under and over both highways the entire 20K. When it does get off the highway, it's a muddy, slippery mess. I try to find something good in every segment of the Camino, but there are so few good parts and so many nasty parts its best to just say it was not the best day on the Camino. It also did not help that it rained, then poured then rained until about 2PM, just when I arrived at Baamonde. My B & B is 17K out of Baamonde, so the deal is when you arrive in Baamonde you call for a ride to the Hotel. OK, I get to Baamonde at 2pm call for the ride, and I am told no problem be at the Galicia restaurant at 5 PM for the ride. 5 PM? What am I supposed to do for 3 hours in the rain? "Sorry but your agent was informed of this". Ahhh yes, Camino Ways (my agent) strikes again! OK so I spend 8 minuets walking the entire town and find a Taxi. 30 minuets and 30 euros later I arrive at my Hotel. OK, now the bright spot, the Hotel is GREAT, very quiet, good food, welcoming hosts AND the best part is I get to stay here 3 nights!! After 31 days of moving hotels every day I am looking forward to unpacking for a few days. Better yet, they will do laundry!!! I can get CLEAN clothes! This is all good. So, the deal is, there are no Hotel option for the next 3 days only Albergue's. This Hotel takes you to the Camino in the morning, drops you off, you walk as far was you want, call them, they pick you up take you back to the Hotel. Then the next day they drop you off where you left the Camino and were picked up the day before. The Hotel is in the center of the next 61K of the Camino. You get to walk this section at what ever pace suits you, as long as you finish the distance in the 3 day period, think it's a really great idea.

The good news is, after crappie wet day on the Camino, it came to a nice end, finding a great spot for the next 3 days including clean cloths!

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