Left Grandas de Salime 8:35 am. Arrived at A Fonsagrada 5:05 pm. Miles walked 16.2.

30 minutes in and we got rain. It was short lived and covering my head with my scarf did the trick. Just as well, because rain poncho is in my suitcase.

Not long into our walk, we pulled to the side to let people pass us. Such peaceful surroundings were being ruined by a young American girl incessantly chatting. arghh…the sound was just plain annoying. When did I become the crabby old lady?

I think we (Caleb too) have become somewhat reclusive. We like each others voice occasionally, but that’s it.

I was feeling grumpy with myself about this, so as we passed a few people and at lunch, I did make the effort to converse. In particular, we liked the two Irish ladies we chatted with, a Canadian mother and daughter, and we briefly saw our 86 year old Spaniard. Don’t feel like such a curmudgeon now 🙂

We are getting quite a bit of rain but still making progress. So many little chapels on this path.

It wasn’t long after the pleasant light rain that we had stormy weather and thunder. Video above tells the story

Six miles in before big climbing. We were lulled into thinking it would be an easy day.

We were lucky to find a super little cafe where we lunched on grilled chicken and cheese sandwich for Caleb and marinated pork sandwich for me. We are in Galicia region now and I believe the food will be better than what we experienced in the Asturias region. I live in hope. But, if our lunch is any indication, it will be reality.

Today was a mixed bag of fantastic weather in the mid 70s and pretty level walking, then torrential rain and steep climbs and descents.

Our final turn into A Fonsagrada was described as very steep but short. Steep accurate, short it was not. We made it, of course, but with frequent stops to catch my breath.

A great bit of news at the hotel. They will do our laundry! It is much needed so I’m thrilled. So excited to put on clean smelling clothes in the morning.

Today’s cultural moment is about the fountain with the Virgin Mary. Apparently Mary appeared here several times so they built the city to honor this miracle. There’s conflicting info on this. The village near here (A Proba De Buron) says the statue was stolen from them as they were the cultural center of the area before

A Fonsagrada was built, and the fight continues. I’ll look for that fountain in the morning. If I find it, there will be photo evidence. If the statue is gone, well, we know where to look for it, don’t we.

We are still in calorie deficit as our evening meal was a shared chorizo bocadillo (sandwich). It was tasty but filling.

Off to pack all my clean clothes :). I will also pack rain poncho in my backpack for tomorrow. I believe that guarantees no rain.

Good night.