May 28th, 2017
Mondonedo to Gontan (Alburgue de Perigrino)
Km walked: 17
Km total: 674
We walked outside into near zero visibility as we left the Alburgue. We had a pleasantly good stay there. The room was actually cold (a good thing), and there were no snorers in the room.
Today’s walking was a fairly miserable experience, on account of rain and thunderstorms. It wasn’t just any rain, but torrential downpours some of the time that lasted several minutes. Our umbrellas did a fairly decent job, but our packs were still wet.
I really hate walking in the rain. The only time it was ever remotely tolerable was on the CDT when I had my cuben fiber poncho. I loved that thing. It also served as the floor to my shelter, and covered my backpack when I wore it, so it had multiple purposes. Unfortunately it reached an untimely demise when I went trail racing and left it in my car in a plastic container along with a big tub of Vasaline. The Vasaline fell on its side, on top of the poncho, and as I raced in the summer heat, the Vasaline melted and leaked all over the poncho. It was impossible to get the Vassaline out, and ultimately I had to discard it. I was really angry at myself, because the poncho/ground sheet was not cheap, and I really loved the damn thing.
Anyway, the point is that I wish I had that piece of gear today, because it makes walking in the rain on a warm day tolerable.
We quit walking early when we reached the next town of Gontan, only about 11 miles from where we started. Although the rain had stopped, more heavy rain was on the way. We didn’t need to do the miles because we actually need to slow down. Our flight back to the United States isn’t until the 7th of June, so there was zero point in doing extra miles in miserable weather.
We met another American, Andy, at the Alburgue and it was nice talking to him for awhile. He has done two other Caminos and lives in Sacramento. As we were talking, a lady was also sitting in the room, and as Andy was describing some different countries that he has been too, somehow the lady started talking about Iraq and Sadam Hussain, and how the United States destroyed that whole region. She told us that we, personally, were responsible for what has happened in the Middle East, and that we were going to pay for it someday, and our kids and grandkids would also pay.
It was an intense one sided conversation, and Andy and Carolyn and myself didn’t really know what to say to this clearly troubled woman. She began crying at one point. She was apparently from former Yugoslavia, and it was clear she had some pent up aggression about how that turned out, blaming the United States for what ultimately happened to that region as well. And, of course, held us personally accountable for it. Why not?
It was weird and odd- definitely not in the spirit of the Camino, and it left an awful taste in my mouth.
Eventually she left, and on her way out she said, “Thank You, I needed that.”
What?
We all just stared at each other in disbelief. I’ve never had someone personally hate me because of my nationality. And what a place to have that happen!
I’m tired of the Camino. These next few days can’t pass fast enough. It’s just not my thing. I’m happy to have had this experience, and for some people, this experience would be a really good fit for them. But it is not my jam, and I’ll be happy to head back Stateside.
I have reached Camino burnout. And it’s time to finish this thing and move on.
