Day 28 Ribadero to Lourenza 28K

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Ribadero is a town located on the River Eo, making it a kind of port town. It's only 1 mile from the ocean and has a large export facility for logs and other natural resources. It is also in a new region of Spain. When you cross the River Eo, you leave Asturias and enter Galicia region. This can be significant as each region has the responsibility to maintain the Camino, as well as provide maps and Information on the Camino. This is provided thru the tourist information center in most towns. This information, maps, assistance, guidance and attitude of each Tourist center has varied drastically with each region. When I started in the Basque Country I was provided a detailed google earth map with the Camino overlaid on the map. It provided enough info. that even if you had no markers you could find you way, with effort but it could be done. Markers in Basque country were fair, assistance from the Tourist information center was good. In Asturias region the map was a map of Spain from San Sebastian to Fisterra. Ahhh worthless at best. In addition the people in the tourist center were, well nasty. Any interruption was viewed as a total intrusion of their space. Even a stamp was a real problem. I only bring this up because when I start my walk from Ribadero I am shocked by both the markers and condition of the Camino.

This day starts with dense fog, visibility less than 100Ft, temp. in the 60's no rain but looking like it will. From the start the Camino markers are new monuments with an arrow showing direction of travel, the familiar scallop shell on a blue background AND the mileage to Santiago. This is so helpful in gauging how far you have gone and how far you still have to go. No only this but the Camino goes from single lane chip seal roads to PERFECT trails complete with newly place stone that is both bladed and compacted to a freeway. The stone is an unusual color, very light and easy to see. I am in the stone business, so I really notice the surface I am walking on, asphalt pavement, concrete, chip seal, crushed gravel, pit run, dirt and any combination. This surface is an ideal walking surface, along with perfect markers making the Camino the best I have walked on in Spain.

So, I a perfect walking surface with a clearly marked path, 50ft visibility and a vertical rise of 2,281 ft. In addition there is no, I mean zero sound. The cloud cover I like a down blanket over your ears. There is NO sound, no cars, no people, no livestock, no birds NOTHING. I have never been in a ZERO sound situation before. I even stop and listen for anything, nothin absolute silence. Well, now, no sound, no worries about footing or direction, nothing to see, just fog. Perfect conditions for meditation. I start exercising my mind, I am walking in a trance, not really thinking about footing or direction. I focus on Problems, real or imaged. I try to think of any issue bothering me and find 3 possible solutions. I go thru issue after issue solving them all in my mind. I was like reading a really good book and totally loosing track of time. Never experienced this in my life, very, very new to me. Time fly's by, the only act is putting on and off my rain coat, it just spitting not really raining and its sporadic. That is until I am shocked back into reality by really loud thunder! Its 12:30pm and I am sure its gonna rain, BIG TIME. I pull into an Albergue for a cool drink. Its packed with Pilgrims, spending the night. It is run by a young couple, and as I pay for my coke zero she asks me how far I am going. I tell her Lourenza. She says 10K, 6k down, 2K up and 2K down. Crap, thats 2 hours minimum. OK, move it meditation is over, time to book! I hustle for the first 4K careful not to piss off my shin. Thunder is louder and closer, boom it open up! Rain like I have not seen before. I find cover in a tool shed, it can't rain like this for long. For 15 minuets it pours, thunders, lightning the whole deal. It's just starting to let up, and the owner pulls in his drive way, see's me standing in the tool shed. He jumps out of his truck runs over and starts shouting at me in Spanish. I have been mediating all day, helping me not to react in a negative way. I mean really it's pissing rain, I have a backpack and poles, what do you think I am gonna walk off with?? I use the universal language, sign language. I hold my hand up in front of his face and say STOP! I reach in my pocket, pull out a 2 euro coin and say "Gracious Senior". Well, dam if that didn't shut him up. He looked at me, the coin and walked away. 2 minuets later the rain let up where I could walk on. 10 minuets on the trail, I find a breach in the drainage system, so much water was flowing, that it carried rock and junk into an intersection damming up the drainage ditch and causing the water to flow down the beautiful walking path. I find a stick and go about unplugging the dam and getting the water back in its proper channel, Ok good deed for the day. The rest of the day is just wet and nasty. The nasty little town of Lourenza appears, and I find my 1* accommodations and check in. I am tired, wet and hungry. As luck would have it, the 1* accommodations is also the dinner provider. The owner speaks NO english, so I use the phone app to communicate. #1 Can I eat now? Yes #2 Do you have heat?Yes, #3 Do you have Wi fi? No. OK, good enough, I order food and wine and start to dry out. Really no chance to engage or even see a situation to share some kindness today, O well there is always tomorrow. As I am finishing dinner, it just me (as usual) the owner and her friend. The owner is sweet, short, devoid of most her teeth, and combed her hair with an egg beater, her friend was not much better but looked like she actually had a hair stylist, and recently purchase clothes. I look up in my english to Spanish dictionary and practice " you two are very beautiful". Well, taught by my wife, food, flowers and flattery work on most women. Devoid of the first two and armed with my new phrase, I walk up to the two women and in my best Spanish I spew " you two are very beautiful". They immediately blush, giggle and laugh, pat their hair like it would improve it. Happy I gave them a little bright spot I say" good night", as I am just about to go out the door the friend says in perfect english "you better go home soon"! Ahhh, she is quite right! Good night!

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