Day Twenty Six: La Faba to Triacastela

Apparently the farmers around here have been praying for rain (obviously counter acting the pilgrims' prayers for sunshine), because it poured buckets all through the night and continued to rain as we prepared to leave this morning. This brought us to the first challenge of the day: waterproofing our bodies and our belongings for the soggy hike ahead. What is the first line of defense for pilgrims against the wet? Trash bags. And so ready to face the rain, Vera, Gosia, Jarek, and I trudged (yes trudged -- even normally enthusiastic pilgrims are a little less chipper when it is cold and wet!) out into the mountains. 

Even under the steady drizzle and thick fog / mist, the mountain view was amazing, maybe even more so because there was an added sense of mystery about it. After about an hour and a half of walking, we arrived at a cafe where we stopped for breakfast / something warm to drink. Let me tell you which of my "waterproof" belongings are actually waterproof (since everything on my body had a tag on it when purchased stating it was so) -- pants: no -- definitely not. shirt(s): no. socks: no. boots: yes! backpack: no. rain jacket: mostly ... There is no escaping the chill that accompanies the wet wind that blows through the mountains, even with warm drinks and food. Yesterday while I was sitting alone in the church, the song "Oceans" popped into my head, particularly the part that goes: Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me ... And today all I could think as I walked through puddle after puddle, stream after stream was: I didn't REALLY mean I wanted to walk on water.

When we had stalled long enough, we headed back out into the wet and continued our journey. No one ever said that the pilgrimage would be easy or fun all the time, and I think today proved that. Don't get me wrong -- I am loving this adventure, even when I have to channel my inner duck to get through, but today was a challenge, not just physically but mentally. I put myself on this path. I make myself get up and walk every day. No one is forcing me to be here or to climb mountains in the rain -- there are taxis and busses that would happily take me to the next Albergue where it is warm and dry and I can wait out the storms; but my patients can't escape their injuries, my campers can't stop their seizures, the poor can't make themselves rich, and Christ didn't put down His cross ... so a little rain and wind will not waver my strength -- I am so determined to take every step, even through the mud, to get to my goal. 

After another two hours of walking we stopped for lunch. It didn't matter how warm that bar was -- my clothes were soaked and I was not getting warm. We left with full bellies to continue our climb. And then, about an hour after we had started again, the sun came out. I could feel an immediate shift in my mood and in my walking. I was back to my happy pilgrim self; the joy of the pilgrimage had returned. 

We continued our now sunny walk and arrived in a small town where it was apparently time to move the cows from their pasture to their shed. This was done by the farmer in a jeep driving behind the cows, honking as he directed them straight through town. This was quite a spectacle and soon we had joined the cow parade, walking slowly behind the jeep since passing was impossible. 

And finally, after rain and wind and cold and sun, we arrived to Triacastela, our destination for the night. By the time we arrived, my pants were splattered with mud from toe to tush (one pilgrim even asked if I had fallen ... nope - just jumped in too many puddles). We checked into our Albergue, rested for a bit, showered, then went to find dinner -- what else but the pilgrim menu: noodle soup, steak and fries, ice cream, bread, and wine. And now we are back in our sleep room where there are quite a few very loud pilgrims -- I hope they chill out soon! 

Here are a few pictures from today: 

Waterproofing at its finest! 

Still pretty, right? 

Bring on the rain!! That trash bag did a fabulous job of keeping the rain out of my pack (and Jarek did a fabulous job of keeping the trash bag on my pack!). 

A little cold, a little soggy, but ready to continue. 

Rain, rain go away ... 

The sunnnnnnnn!!!! 

Now that is a path I wanna take! 

Are mud bathes only effective if the mud is on your skin? 

It only takes a minute of the wonderful to make me forget all of the not so wonderful. 

Soooo soooo pretty!! 

Just one more -- sorry for the mountain picture overload! (This is only about 1/8 of the ones I took -- get excited to see them all family!!)

And my bed for the night. 

I. Am. Exhausted. I will definitely sleep well tonight. We are still in for some rainy days ahead, but that's okay -- I'm ready to take my stormy days with my sunny ones. I think without the stormy days, I may forget how blessed I am when the sun shines. 

Buen Camino. 

Jena