Some pictures of a snowy Galicia!

YES IT IS ICE IN THE FACE FUNGUS!

From Lubian (Place of the wolves)

Woke to screaming wind blowing a feckin hooley! It was hard to see if snow was falling but the ground was covered. The albergue was on 2 floors, 2 cyclists from Ibiza downstairs and me and the 2 guys from Mallorca upstairs. I tried to look outside and couldn't get the window closed again so it was out at speed wearing all my clothes. There were 2 mountain passes to climb and although the wind was blowing ice my body was quickly hot so I had to stop and strip off. Several times I disturbed Roe Deer (Corzo in Spanish) foraging in the snow and surprised that anyone would be foolish enough to be walking. Once I got to the top of the second pass at about 1250m I had climbed through the weather and it was cold but sunny. Irish people can do anything as long as the sun is shining. I noticed that I had lost a motorway and a national road then I realised they had been in a tunnel through the mountains but I wanted them for orientation. When I saw the motorway my heart leapt! the sign said Galicia, province of Ourense! Nothing bad can happen to me now. My friend Manolo told me years ago that there is a Celtic Goddess with big boobs who will always look after me. The big boobs were details of Manolo's but probably important ones, so I have never forgotten them. So now I am in Galicia, birthplace of the Irish people and somewhere in all that snow I crossed the invisible line that leaves me only 200km to go!

Walking in snow

The day started promisingly enough with a clear sky and a weak sun. By 1000 however the first sleet started to fall. I noticed on the overhead signs that lorries were being forbidden from overtaking on the parellel motorway between km96 to km124 because of snow. Broadly my journey today will be km86 to km114 so I suppose I will see some of it. Presently I am on a coffee stop and the snow is swirling outside but is not yet too bad. I have about 20km left to go and I will do all of it on the tarmac. I may even put my boots on instead of my sandals! There are snow covered mountains in every direction now and everything looks very beautiful when the sun appears. I hope it does that a bit more frequently as I do not want to walk the rest of the camino on roads in the snow.

TABARA

Leaving Zamora I met Beatriz by complete accident and headed off into the countryside. The Camino was, once again, following pointless detours even going East at one stage. I was getting fed up with not going North or West with my ideal being to do both at the same time! Anyway, as I came to another non-sensical sign pointing East I jumped ship and followed my compass. I soon came to a road junction and saw 2 names of places I need to get to. Unfortunately at 230 and 89km they were a little distant! Hoping that there would be somewhere in between I started walking along the side of the road. About 5km later a car pulled up in front of me on the verge with it's hazard lights on and a woman jumped out and ran up to me. It was as if I was her long lost brother! She tried to give me food and talked without pause about her own pilgrimages. If I was a lone female I would not approach me on a street on a sunny day much less an unkempt pilgrim close to nightfall! She wasn't sure how far it was to my destination but felt it was more than 10 km, it was actually 22km! Almost completely dark and starting to rain I thought I saw some lights in a valley in front. 30 mins later I was at a crossroads with a bar. I asked if there was accommodation and didn't get a clear reply. I hoped that meant some black market b&b! I have encountered it before, whole hotels supposedly closed to avoid tax while doing great business through the backdoor. It was one of those, so 12€ later I am in an en-suite room as the rain really started to hammer down outside. A good omen for my new direction I hope!

ROSE HIP REMEDIES

In honour of my mother, who takes the processed type, and of my Pueblo Ingles compañera, Sabela, whose family makes an old country medicine from them, I have been eating wild Rose Hips. They are one of the many things competing for the title of "Most vitamin C" and are guaranteed to ward off everything from Swine Flu to flat feet.

Dishonest Diversion

Today, for the first time on a Camino I encountered some deliberate obliteration of the signs, normally arrows, pointing the way. I followed them and missed the village of Bercianos De Valverde and the authentic Camino to Santa Croya de Tera. It is alleged that the staff of Bar La Moña in Villanueva de las Peras are responsible, attempting to attract pilgrims to their business. The arrows certainly point there and various people, in 3 villages, have them at the top of the suspicious list! Doubtless St James will roast their souls when the time is right!