Catching Up with Chris

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Ribadiso Albergue

The evening at Ribadiso turned into a bit of a nightmare. The albergue seemed to have settled down around 10.30pm, and all was quiet until a few well lubricated individuals returned to the dormitory just before 1.00am. Unlike conventional buildings, where it would have been possible to close (and lock) the door at the designated closing time, this albergue is based on a collection of restored buildings, and the layout did not lend itself to stopping latecomers from wandering back at any time they chose. They made so much noise even the other Spaniards got fed up, and told them to stop their noise.

Mixed Weather & Mixed Feelings

After a string of mainly sunny days, today threatened rain, but only delivered a couple of brief and not very heavy showers. It was enough to walk in my waterproof after lunch, and contemplate having as early a stop as possible. As it happened, the only reasonable prospect, a private albergue, was already full. So I stopped at the Xunta (government) albergue at Pedrouza/Arca.

Among the familiar faces was Chris, who I had last seen at Portomarin, and Katherine, a young German woman who has also been on the Camino since St Jean Pied de Port. We ate together just up the road and chatted about this being our last night. I know that I was looking forward to completing my pilgrimage, but also felt sad that this would be the last time we would eat together as pilgrims on the Camino. Tomorrow would be a different day.

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