DAY 30 (Mon, 21.07.2014)
XAGOAZA – A RUA (15,96kms)
https://www.endomondo.com/workouts/user/16690154
I knew this will be quite short stage so I didn't make much effort to leave early. Instead I enjoyed the morning on the porch and watched the trees on opposite hill getting colour in the morning sun. It was 11AM when I finally departed. Not a nice walk down the hill on tarmac with stiff knees and cold muscles for 1,7kms and 160mts altitude. Auch! At church of San Tirso I haven't found any markers for Ca
mino whatsoever but also didn't want to go back to promenade in A Rua so I went right along the N-120 now to my right.
1,8kms later I came to a roundabout where marked Camino joined from the left (photos905&906). From that point 300mts further on the righthand side is Hiper Gadis, opened all days 09:30-22:00. I bought some things and made a short break. Village of Arcos is 1,5kms further still on a tarmac road. There the arrows disappeared. Maybe I've missed the crucial one but as I continued straight on when crossing N-120 again the arrows reappeared. 2,5kms later on a disused tarmac side road I came to Vilamartin (approx.5kms from Hiper Gadis) (photos907,910&911). Although the Camino goes through sport park it is still on tarmac. My feet were almost burning and I stopped for two cold beers in a bar at the city swimming pool. I put my boots off and forgot about the visit of the town which center is about half a kilometer from Rio Sil and sport park.
Camino to A Rua de Valdeorras and a bit later A Rua (Albergue Casa da Solaina) runs for another 6,5kms on tarmac which means that the whole days stretch was on tarmac – brutal!!! But views at Rio Sil and some pine trees with their scent made it easier (photos912&914-916). From the point where the last photo was taken is almost exactly 3kms to private albergue. Both ways, for private and municipal (sport hall) albergues, are well signposted, but I went to the right off the main road. No real need for that unless you want to get off busy main street. On this »detour« there's nothing really interesting to see but the direction to Casa da Solaina is perfectly marked and there's no way you can get lost. But if you do continue on main street you can pick up arrows to Casa da Solaina at Ayuntamiento which would be on your left. Turn right there and soon you'll be on small plaza in front of the Church of Fatima (photo919&920 – in next post). Camino runs on the street to the left while the way to albergue is by church left wall, again clearly marked. It's a part of A Rua with small and old houses and so is Albergue (photos924-926 – in next post).
When I first came there everything was closed so I've made a phone call but nobody answered and I descended to the bar in front of Ayuntamiento. Itching started again and I've counted over 200 bites. I was thinking to myself if Asuncion, the hospitalera, wouldn't know what to do I was to go to the nearest hospital and ask for some sort of quarantine or something similar. But since my will and selfcontrol is quite strong in crisis situations I did never scratch a single bite with my fingernails, only with fingertips, so I was spared of infection or even blood poisoning. Soon Asuncion returned call and an hour later she drove with her mother Manuela from Ponferrada. Immediately, right there on the street, I told her about the bedbugs. She asked me a few short questions and said that we would be able to solve the problem.
By the time I returned to the albergue she had already made some preparation. In the patio (photos927-929) I've made a pile of all my clothes, my sleeping bag, castro cap, even cloth kind of sock for my smart phone and finally stripped myself completely naked. Asuncion searched for a bathrobe but she didn't find anything more suitable for me than her mother's silky one (photo931)
We have had some good laughs, especially her mother when she saw me from the stairs above… Everything then went into washing machine (for the 4th or 5th time in last week!) at 90 degrees C and again I sprayed all the rest.
Later Asun gave me this NosaGel (
gel higienizante hidroalcoholico con aloe vera), which supposedly smell nasty to those creatures, talked to me some more, did a few of her shamanic things and in the evening told me that most probably either I got water poisoned or it is a fierce body reaction on just a few bedbug bites (because there are still some traces of syphilis in my blood which goes in my paternal family branch from a member that had syphilis in the time of WW1???). So I guess all my clothes washing was in vain... Well, whatever the reason was, in those days I would literary do anything to stop this. We have had nice late cold dinner prepared by her mother Manuela and talked some more about Camino(s), life, love, philosophy, history, current financial and moral situation in EU etc. She told me that the last peregrino before me was
@econodan with his wife and I've told her about
@caminka (she lives in the same city as I do) and later even phoned her so they could've had a few minutes of chatting. Really nice evening!
I was sleeping in my own room with three beds and there were another room with kingsize bed and bathroom (shower & WC) attached. Next day later in the morning my stuff was dry and I finally got out of Manuela's bathrobe
Good Asun didn't know my nickname... No new bites during the night and considerably less itching. Asun gave me small bottle of homeopathic medicine full with small white balls and I had to take three per day for next month. Also she asked me if I allow her to do one other thing. I agreed and she had put me in the jin-jang circle made of differently coloured stones on the floor of her patio. She had burned some sort of fragrances on a small tray, walked around me, smoked my armpits, my head and crotch with those fragrances and talking something I didn't understand. Hm, well… I don't know what in later days really helped me, either official drugs or her shaman medicine, but it worked and I was sooo happy for that. And especially I was happy because of her attitude in helping me. That's really unforgettable. And she with her mother are another persons on my Camino Angels list!!!
Muchisimas gracias, Asun y Manuela!
I have spent that non-walking day really on easy. Few beers in a bar with tripled tapas (waitress was on Camino also last year), yummy, just getting lost in the streets, reading,… And in El Arbol market across the street of Ayuntamiento I have met Gloria, hospitalera from Xagoaza, because she works there. Upon her hint I've bought chorizo that was sooo good I wish it would be in front of me right now
The evening went by very quickly and I fell asleep calmed down and kind of sure that my issues were over.