Blimey. This weather

[gyro]

Dear All,
I am in Llanes this evening, where my bedroom has been converted into Asturias´most efficienct drying room. Six hours I was on the camino today - at best, the rain slowed down to a leisurely drizzle. I was soaked like a drowned rat when I hit town.

The local newspapers have been full of the news that almost all of Spain has had three times the average amount of rain in March. All I can write is that Asturias is now catching up on the rest of the country.

I can only hope that tomorrow will be drier because I don´t think I can take a large number of these soaking 25 km plods.

So, to anyone out there on a Camino this evening, I send my warmest and driest wishes to you.
You have my sympathy.

Gyro

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi, gyro,
Hope the weather improves for you. I walked the Norte in May several years ago, and the walk between Pendueles and Llanes was a steady cold rain downpour. I kept thinking that the views would be beautiful if I could only see some water other than the rain. I hope you have the same luck we did, because after that the sun came out and we had smooth sailing to Santiago.

Hang in there, peregrino. Laurie

 

[polsmith63]

Started walking from Gijon on 06 April, torrential rain for the first 3 days. Having said that it was still a lot warmer than Ireland was at the same time. I wore shorts everyday only putting on over trousers for the really heavy rain. After that we had a mixture of sunshine, rain and hail. Miraz was like an oasis when we reached it one afternoon after a particularly heavy hail storm. The hospitalaros (Bromsgove & Plymouth) were fantastic with a super wood burning stove to dry our clothes and a warm room to sleep in. It was probably the best Auberge we stayed in. The staff there have done fantastic work and I think that it would serve as a model refuge for anywhere in Europe. We continued on our way with mostly good weather, there was rain but mainly showers lasting about 30 minutes. The temperature was noticeably colder when we joined the Camino Frances at Azura, meeting so many pilgrims was almost overwhelming, unfortunately the etiquette in the Auberges by some of them left a lot to be desired, but with such large numbers it is probably to be expected. We broke the final 40kms from Azura down into 2 days to savour our entry into Santiago de Compostelo and were rewarded with blue skies and sunshine as we arrived just in time for the midday pilgrims mass. I commenced the Northern route in August 2012 finishing it off in March/April 2013. On balance I can honestly say that I enjoyed both stages equally. In the summer it is great to get in for an early morning swim at some secluded beach or cove, or to enjoy a lunch break with an ice cream or a busy beach but likewise it was equally good to walk in cooler temperatures, enjoying a nice bowl of Galician soup for lunch or getting into a warm bed in an almost deserted Auberge at night. We had no problem finding Auberges along the way and of course unlike the summer there is no danger of having to queue for them or even worse finding them full. The most people that were staying in an Auberge with us was 11 and that was only once or twice. And with the smaller numbers you tend to mix better. We met some fabulous people, like the Spanish family from Toledo of mother, father, auntie, 12 yr old son and 7 yr old little sister Elsa who walked 150kms together from Ribadeo. How could you feel tired or complain after seeing her smiling face as she skipped along with her little pack holding her fathers hand. And not forgetting that "crazy" French girl who after spending a year in a wheelchair and crutches following a motorcycle accident walked out of her house in Brittany in early April and walked the 1800kms all the way to Santiago de Compostelo - Inspirational.

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Gyro, maybe I can send a little sunshine your way! Looking at the 7 day forecast, I think your prayers will be answered and the rain will stop. Looks like partly/mostly sunny days, a bit windy tomorrow and Sunday with a 64 degree F temperature (17.7 Celsius) and the other days in the mid 60'6 low 70's (18.3-24.4.) Oh, Monday only 58 degrees (14.4) and mostly cloudy. Hope you have a great Camino!

Ultreia!

Mary