Sunny skies greeted us on the third morning of our pilgrimage. We were well rested, dry and ready to face the day. We were excited to see a delicious and generous breakfast buffet - the best breakfast of our journey. And what an amazing place! In the daylight we could now appreciate the beauty of this hotel & spa. Lots of natural stone gave it a rustic and sturdy feel and the surrounding countryside created a peaceful, serene atmosphere. Perhaps this place is a bit too luxurious or pricey for the average pilgrim on the Camino, but I would highly recommend it, a great place to rest and replenish your energy.
Just a short walk back to the Camino from the hotel (~500 meters) and we were ready for more walking!
Yes, that is sunshine! The weather was a bit improved today and we thoroughly enjoyed the brief bits of sun.
Since the Camino goes through small villages we often saw farm animals en route. Fortunately they were always behind a fence (this donkey included) or being tended by a farmer (in the case of some cattle we came across).
Despite the sunshine the trail was still littered with huge puddles like the one below. Rather then spend the rest of the day walking with wet socks and shoes, I finally decided to take my shoes off and walk barefoot through the water.
Partway through the day we found ourselves walking through a small town and came upon a playground. Amazing how the kids can find energy when there is something fun to do - they ran to the playground and were excited to try out the equipment.
So much for our sunny day! Pouring rain towards the end of the day. Another evening of arriving at a hotel soaking wet, shoes covered in mud, wet back packs, etc.
I forgot to take a photo of our next hotel - it was pouring rain when we arrived and we had to contact our host to let us in (presumably this was only because it was off-season).
He was very kind and did not mind that we were drenched and muddy. The large backpack goes a long way in this part of the world towards garnering respect!
Today's walk was a bit shorter at only 13 km so we arrived in time to relax a bit at the hotel. We stayed at Hostal Conde Rey in Bandeira. Although it sounds like a hostel they had a nice big family room (with a huge closet) on the top floor which was just perfect for all of us to share. Plenty of room for all our backpacks and radiators to dry our clothes. This hotel is directly on the Camino so the location was perfect. We again enlisted John to get some takeout food for us since we were all so wet/cold/tired we just wanted to lie down and do nothing. The kids were in luck - the pub next door had burgers (their favorite food). Thank goodness for Daddy!
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