Walking through coal country

For whatever reason when I woke up this morning I decided to continue with the camino Olvidado, no doubt having something to do with my "finish what you start" attitude. It had rained a LOT overnight and it was grey and gloomy when I woke up but by the time I unzipped my sleeping bag, my mind was made up. My pal Rebekah will meet me on Sunday in Ponferrada for a few days' walking and that's a great incentive. 

 

By the end of today's long (33 km) day, it seems like I've put the coal world behind and have gotten into higher mountains. There was a lot of walking along the side of the road, but thankfully usually with a nice soft shoulder. Then there were occasions when the arrows pointed me off road and off I went only to find after ten or fifteen minutes walking that my path was blocked by some kind of fence or gate --and not one of those nice pilgrim- friendly gates you open and close behind you. No, most of these were pretty hostile "keep out" gates. But my friend Ender who has marked a lot of this route has told me that the gates are illegal and to just figure out how to get over or under them. Well today I had more than my share of fence maneuvering and found that I can squirm under most barbed wire fences (thank goodness for the washing machine at Casa Resthy tonight) and have even made it over a fence that warned me it would shock me but I survived. Not sure these talents will serve me well anywhere off the camino, however.

I did go through four or five small villages today and found pretty much the same thing on all of them. A large number of houses in ruins. Then a chunk of houses that have been beautifully restored but shut up tight. I've been told these are summer homes for the descendants of the original owners. And then there were always a few charmless but basically habitable places, frequently with the nice smell of a wood burning stove this morning, and that's where I can find a villager if I need help. 

Despite all the rain over night and some pretty threatening clouds on and off during the day, once again no rain fell on me, so I am really lucky. The next two days are the highlight of this camino, lots of mountains, so I'm hoping my luck holds.