Day 9 on the Camino: Combarro to Ribadumia – Ups and downs – part 1
Scampered back to the apartment from the restaurant last night amid scattered rain and thunder bolts. Happily the host had advised Bob on what to do if the power went down so we were not left in the dark longer than it took him to find the fuse box. So I packed my rain poncho today just in case.
We got a good early start today as we had to wheel our suitcases over 5 minutes of cobblestone streets to the luggage pickup station. We then found a bakery/coffee shop and settled into such a good breakfast that by the time we called for a taxi all were already commandeered. So we get to hang out with the Cafe wifi for an hour until the second wave. It’s a religious holiday today in this Catholic country (Pentecost, Dory says, so that may explain the taxi shortage.
M had a brief panic this morning when my husband in an email wondered why we planned such a long hike between Ribadumia and Padron, and M realized she had omitted a stopover in lining up our luggage service. Fortunately, she was able to correct the mistake fairly easily thanks to B’s excellent Portuguese and her own excellent Spanish. I wish I had spent more time in advance of the trip remembering my Spanish. However most people here speak Galation which is closer to Portuguese than to Castilian, so maybe it’s a moot point.
This section of the Variant Spirituelle includes the longest uphill climb. I read several accounts of how “we thought the trail would never end – up and up and up again- but when we finally reached the monastery at the top it was all worth it.” But remember, we are not doing penance on our Camino, and my sensible sister, rather than having us exhausted by the time we reached the high point of the path, simply called a taxi which took us along a scenic road directly to the destination in about twenty minutes. Brilliant!
The monastery is lovely, with moss-covered old stone walls, a beautiful chapel interior, and a gift shop. And we were full of energy to enjoy it.
This was definitely an UP! Tune in next week for the DOWN!