Today we made it to the village of Triacastela, population of 900. We trekked about 20 miles today and it was a challenging day.

Woke up at six and I could hear the rain! Rain or shine we said, so here we go. We left our cozy little house and walked the half block to the main albergue to pay for both the room and diner. There were only two other pilgrims left there since everyone wanted an early start up the mountain pass.
It was in the low forties and raining and it wasn’t the greatest way to start. Without rain pants our pant bottoms were already wet and that’s why you never wear any cotton on a trek as lightweight nylon or polyester will dry very quick. 
We passed several little cafes and you could see everyone loading up for the climb. I had some dates and some cheese as I didn’t want anything heavy. 
It was a slight uphill for about a mile and as soon as we passed the last few houses the Camino started the steep uphill. We came to where the Camino split onto the dirt route for the trekkers and the asphalt road for the bicyclists. I had been told it would be very rough for the Wheelie on the dirt route, especially while it was raining. The asphalt road is lightly traveled but much longer, and we decided to take the asphalt road. As it turned out many others also took the asphalt road.
We were sweating almost immediately with our rain gear on and it almost didn’t matter that we had them on as we were completely soaked under them. Even though I have all the right gear and usually come prepared, I didn’t layer underneath with my wool underwater and I didn’t wear my contacts. 
I was chilled even though I was sweating and the wool would have kept me warm even if it was wet. It was just raining to hard and I didn’t want to uncover the Wheelie to pull out my bag to get my wool layer. 
My prescription sunglasses continually fogged up from the heat coming up my jacket and I could not see very well. I finally stopped and quickly got the contacts out of my top bag and had Monica help me put it in while standing on the side of the road in pouring rain. It surely made a difference.

We weren’t sure how far we’d come as it was also so foggy that we had no landmarks. Not to many photos because of this. It was also hard to hear cars because the sound of the rain on our hoods. We were both pretty cold and wet and I kept wondering how much further and how much worse it could get, when we came upon a little cafe in the middle of nowhere. It was a small place but it was packed with other pilgrims.
I took my Gore-Tex rain parka off and I was completely soaked. Gore-Tex keeps the water out, but it really doesn’t allow the moisture to evaporate out when you are very active. 
I am not a coffee drinker, but with no hot chocolate a coffee with milk sure warms the body, that along with a huge piece of chocolate cake. 
Back into the rain after warming up and in about another hour we came upon another cafe and it too was packed. By then it was pouring and it was another great break, with another hit cup of coffee and milk. 
We finally made it to the top and the rain had let up a bit but it never really stopped raining all day. 
We stumbled into Triacastela late and I found that the rain had driven lots of people into the albergues and hotels early and the first we stopped at were full. I checked several others and finally found a room in a hotel. The only drawback was the room was on the third floor without an elevator. Three stories doesn’t seem like much but after a long day it’s a bit tiring.
We went out to diner at a random restaurant we found and it was packed, and the food turned out be great. We sat next to two funny Italian women and had a great time talking with them. For what we have experienced the Italians are up there as some of the friendliest people on the Camino. 
We are nearing the end of the Camino de Santiago Compostela and have only about 83 miles to go. Today was probably one of the hardest days other than the first day at Saint Jean. The Class of 23 is probably strung all along the Camino with some pilgrims ahead of us and some behind. We actually lost someone on the first day going over the Pyrenees Mountains. He was 53 years old and had heart problems and made the decision to live life and went anyway, and unfortunately he had a heart attack near the top. We heard someone else passed away there too a few days before we started. 
It’s sad that someone should die on the Camino, but I have always told my family that if something were to happen to me on a trek that they should celebrate that it happened when I was doing something I love rather than possibly dying of old age in a convalescent or nursing home. 
Tomorrow it’s suppose to start clearing up and we will wait and see? Rain or shine we will head out either way. 
Best wishes,

Ted

Up the steep climb in the fog and rain.

Up the steep climb

We made it to the top 

At the top

View from our room. Notice the pilgrim.

View from our room.