Vilalba (Spain) | Another Short Day - Day 117

 

I have no idea what these flowers are, and it matters not. I love their shape and color, and this blood-red one diverts my attention away from walking this morning. 

Day 32 takes me from As Paredes to Vilalba. The stage is short, only 15 km (9.3 mi), and is relatively flat. The descent is only about 80 m (262 ft) before the Camino oscillates around an elevation of 400 m (1,312 ft).

Man, it is damn cold this morning. I put on my rain jacket in an effort to retain my body heat. A subtle fog hangs near the trees when I leave the Albergue at 8 am. I don't have far to go this morning and am looking to enjoying the trail. I decided yesterday to walk another short stage today. It will give me more options to do 20-25 km (12.5-15.5 mi) in the coming days. I like that distance and find it to be just right. Depending on the stage's difficulty, I can usually reach the Albergue between 130 p and 330 pm. I prefer to be at the Albergue no later than 330 pm. When I arrive any later, I have little time to write, and my whole evening is a scramble.

I am freezing this morning. Even though I have my rain jacket on, I also stop and put on my rain pants. I am hoping that wearing both will keep me warmer. The Galicia region is charming. When I round the corner, I notice the red ivy growing through the cedars, contrasting the green with the yellow house in the background.

I enjoy the beautiful fall colors of the trail this morning. 

One of the unique things about the Camino in Galicia is that these flat upright stones are used to delineate property boundaries. I think they give the region a distinct charm. Several of the towns I pass through this morning are resemble villages more than towns. Most have no services. I notice only a few scattered homes, and farms. These are places where people choose to live simply.

Around a quarter to 11 am, the Camino crosses one of the many roads. As I reach the intersection, I see this small church and the magnificent above-ground crypt that is behind the church. 

As I stop to take a photo and admire the crypt, an older Spanish man tells me that the vault is open and I can enter. Or at least, that is what I think he said. I thank him and enter. I have not seen any crypts like this anywhere else on the Camino. Each vertical vault appears to be allocated to a family. Most have only a few members who have passed, evident by the flowers.

As I leave the crypt, I see Ella, Lou, and Jill arriving down the trail. Consider taking a moment to explore the vault. It is open, I say. As I continue on the Camino, the three gals cross the street and enter the vault. About an hour later, I arrive in Vilalba. 

I find my Albergue and am thrilled to find only two other Peregrinos. Unfortunately, one is Manfred, the German man who doesn't bathe. I've chatted with Manfred briefly over the last few days, he's a wonderful person, but I can only be near him in small doses as the smell is overpowering.

There is a huge grocery store in town, and I head over to grab a few snacks to reload. When I arrive back at the Albergue, I realize I should have taken inventory of what I had stuffed in my rucksack. I now have enough snacks for at least 5 days. This is way too much. Further, the mistake is compounded by the fact that Correos does not service the Albergue I am staying at. I need to carry my rucksack about 15 km (9.5 mi) tomorrow. I laugh. Fortunately, the day is short, but adding several pounds of snacks was not a good idea. I have double and triple my go-to snacks. I spend the rest of the day writing and catching up on a few things before calling it a night.

I spent the whole morning walking again in solitude, with only brief conversations with the few other Peregrinos I passed. Clearly, I need some time alone, and it feels good. The short stages are an added bonus for me and are helping my body recover. This was a good call, and I feel refreshed. The day was rather uneventful. I felt more like it was a walking rest day. We'll see how I do tomorrow on another short stage with my rucksack.