As I woke up, it was raining hard. I had slept in late, it was 8:00. I ate breakfast at the hotel and found out they didn’t have a laundry, but there was a laundromat in town.
It had been a long time without a good washing of my clothes. Hand washing in sinks and showers only works so well. And clothes don’t dry well, even quick drying clothes, hanging on a backpack in high humidity and rain. Socks are the worst.
The laundromat opened at 9:00, it was a little out of the way. I got there at about 9:15, and all three machines were full. I had to wait to get started. When it was time to start, my Spanish was tested, this wasn’t like any laundromat I had used before. The main difference is you do not add soap. I got change, put in my money, and sure enough the machine added soap itself and suds were with the clothes. Everything, including the dryer, worked successfully, but I was delayed getting going.
In order to get big miles in I would need to push hard with a late start. The weather didn’t cooperate. The skies would clear, then the winds from the west would come in strong with the rain, then calm down, then come back. Back and forth all day. The weather forecast calls for more of this.A casualty of the wind is the umbrella Rick and Nancy lent me. The “Mary Poppins” thing happened a few times, one of the ribs broke. It still functions, but it’s no longer fashionable. It required rebar ribs to handle some of these winds.
Apparently the winds were nice for the surfers, there were lots of them surfing today, and an entire community centered on surfing. There was one golf course, and only one group of golfers. They were brave.
Lots and lots of nice scenery today, but I decided not to take as much time taking pictures. Take my word for it, it was pretty scenery, but sometimes hard to see because of the wind.
Did I mention this trail heads west along the northern part of Spain. Winds from the west, when your walking west, aren’t nice.
About 4:30 in the afternoon going through a tiny village I saw a hand painted sign saying Restaurant. I was ready to eat, with my head down walking toward it when I heard my two French-Canadian brother friends yell out “Ken” in their strong French accents. They had stopped to eat, and decided to stop for the day due to conditions. The back and forth of good weather/ bad weather had got to them, and quite a few others. I decided to stop earlier than intended and visit. I didn’t get as far as hoped, but still had a good day. ~12 miles.
