Left the nice warm hostel in the rain again this morning to walk over the carriage mountains. It was very cold and windy at the summit! Bryce climbed all the way to the peak! As we came off the mountain we passed the ” hippie shack” where our credential was painted. We saw many quaint villages with a roman church and we walked on roman ruin stone paths… Amazing! The sun came out as we neared Mellide! We are now off of the primitive route and complete our journey over the next two days on the French rout. About 60 km to santiago!

We left Lugo this morning in the rain and it didn’t stop all day! Two words describe this day… Wet -and cold! We still managed about 19 miles and some sweet memories.. Some of our day included…
-a visit back to the cathedral for a blessing of Bryce’s st Christopher
– cafe with huavos sandwiches and cafe leche to get warm for a moment
– went soaking wet into a cafe and wound up with a wonderful lunch of cabbage and ham
-mud up to our knees on forest paths
– giving up and sloshing through!
– getting lost in open fields
– knocking on farmhouse doors and fighting off dogs to seek direction
– a never ending road
– and a kind man with a beautiful private hostel to get warm, dry, and rested
– meeting 3 ladies from Switzerland France and England . Lovely and fun!!!!

Buenos Dias! It is another day and we are feeling better with the exception of mike. He is not well., nothing serious just not up to carrying a backpack over the mountains today. We have a very steep climb up to the windmills at the alto and an even steeper descent down to the dam at grande de Salime. Bryce and I decide to go on and we sent mike ahead to wait for us! The day was spectacular! The hike was mostly wooded and we played and bantered along the path while talking about life choices… Priceless. The descent was rugged, steep, with lots of cutbacks and beautiful! Bryce was very protective about me staying away from the edge…. He reminds me of mike in so many ways. We never saw a soul but there were signs of others pointing the way for us. As we departed the woods onto a road we saw an amazing view of the dam so we hiked down and went exploring. We could see a quaint structure up in the hills overlooking the water and we hoped that was where mike would be..,. It was! A lovely spot to stop and rest.
Today was bitter sweet as we said goodbye to Peter and Maria! They left us with a plan to make santiago and sweet memories of our camino angels- “let me help you- I’m going to help you” – this couple has known great loss and sorrow but exude such joy and warmth… Lessons to remember…,

Oh my goodness! Today was the hardest day yet… 20 miles of climbing high altitudes in most, cold, wind. Steep climbs and descents and no places to stop. We had to choose and ,of course, we chose the road less traveled… The original hospitales route.
We left the alburgue with an old dog as our escort to the crossroads. The scenes were intensely beautiful but it was hard to look up because the hiking was rather treacherous. Bryce called it our day to walk in the clouds! We all were limping and laughing as we hobbled into an alburgue . Hot tea and a hot shower had us a bit refreshed but we are pretty beaten up. Feet and backs are feeling the miles and we are ready for bed! Night night!
Ps.. We ate octopus last night….not certain what I think about that…,

We slept in today until 8:00! We loved TINEO… What a sweet experience! We started with a huge Spanish breakfast of eggs, country bacon, French fries, bread, and coffee! Yum!!! The scenery was incredible today and the time together precious! We detoured for about a mile and went to see a church that is a roman ruin… Spectacular! Bryce is a blast to walk with as he does a whole routine of a crazy king wondering the countryside… He yells “I’m the king” and then performs while hiking along… It certainly makes the miles pass as we laugh and even play along! We are staying at our first alburgue, about 26 beds… Group dinner…3 Frenchmen, 2 Germans, 2 Dutch, and a few spaniards.,, looking forward to a fun evening together!!’

Third day out!
What a hard climb!!! The day was beautiful but the paths were very muddy! It was worth it for the views!
Things to remember..,
– lots of baby animals
– a farmer warning us to take the highway due to the water and we thought he was offering water… Oops!
– wonderful dinner with Peter and Maria
– lunch at bar in Espina had pork sandwiches to die for!!!
– local grocer helping us buy fresh cherries, figs, and cheese for the hike tomorrow!
– visit to the farmicia where we had to type in English to communicate our need for help with blisters!

We started off the day by mailing a box of about 7 lbs of stuff we decided we could live without to the cathedral… Wondering if we will ever see that again!

The magic of the camino is starting to settle in.,. In just two days out we are amazed at the kindness of strangers and truly believe in camino angels…
– the farmer who invited us for aqua
– the sweet lady in baby blue jacket that walked us into Grado to show us where to stay
– the farmer on the tractor who stopped work to show us the path that we could not see
– Peter and Maria, the retired couple from Russia that we have become friends with that watch out for us!!!
– the elderly farmer who stopped working his garden to give us blessings and me kisses.
– everyone we pass in villages shout ” buen camino”

A few favorite memories from today include..
– caffe leche with Peter and Maria at a quaint cafe while listening to frank Sinatra
– beautiful, meticulous gardens
– natural fountains
– cherries off the trees
– Bryce playing Celtic music and dancing along the trail
– Santiago cookies

We were lost twice today but the angels took care of us!