Pilgrim blog - "Camino Blanco de Santiago"

[sillydoll]

http://haloranch.blogspot.com/2008/11/c ... tiago.html

October 31: ..... And yes, it snowed for about an hour at the highest point. So now I have experienced pretty much everything.....heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, hail, thunder, lightning....not much left.


Day 25 (October 30) was a 38 km walk from Mombuey to Puebla de Sanabria where for the first time I actually thought about quitting or at least trying to get a ride. Everything seemed to be conspiring against me. For the fourth day in a row I was faced with bitterly cold conditions....freezing temperatures and a headwind of 20-30 kph. It was cloudy and dark and periodically the rain would come down. If I had not been able to buy a pair of gloves in Calzadilla de la Tera the previous day I would have had to turn around. I really don´t have the clothing to handle these conditions. Everyone I meet talks about the unseasonably cold conditions (muy frios) and in fact in one of the bars I was watching the news and they were interviewing some peregrinos who were walking over one of the pases in about 15 cm of snow. The headline was "Camino Blanco de Santiago".

 

[Anniesantiago]

Oh my gosh, Sil!

Your posts are really influencing my decision as to when I'll travel the Via de Plata!

Can you hole up somewhere until the weather clears?

Hang in there, but don't take chances!
You're in my prayers!

 

[sillydoll]

Annie, it is not me on the Via - it is a 58 year old retired woman from Alberta in Canada.
I truly admire anyone wading on through snow, cold and strong winds. I too would be tempted to get a bus!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Thanks for the link. I'll read her blog.
I am sorry she's going through this horrible weather. It's miserable being cold!
I'm surprised at the weather! But I guess at those elevations, anything can be expected.
Maybe I should go in the Spring instead! ::laughing::

 

[MermaidLilli]

And now from Puebla she is moving into some tallllll mountains. I imagine the weather even worse there. Hope she listens to the locals as they are good at giving advice regarding whether to walk or not. These are isolated areas she is going through now.
Lilliann

 

[TheLostPhotographer]

Nice link. Interesting to read someone elses take on the current weather conditions. I've just invested in extra clothing in preparation for the trek northwards from Zamora. Possibly going to take a break with friends in the mountains for a few days to see if the weather clears. I ain't nearly as hard as a 58 year old woman. I'm taking no chances!

 

[sillydoll]

I left a message for the 'peregrina' on the blog and have had a response.

"My husband is actually the peregrino - I'm in Canada trackIng his progress. We have a website with way more information on his walk and the reason for it. Here's a link if you're interested:
http://www.haloranch.ca

So, my apologies - I thought the profile was a 58 year-old woman but it is in fact her husband.

 

[evanlow]

OMG,

It will be mountainous all the way to Laza. This area is where I felt coldest due to the rain, wind, fog and elevation, and that was in May!

I can't fathom anyone going through this area in the snow. I hope he is alright.

http://camino.wificat.com/2008/05/before-galicia.html
http://camino.wificat.com/2008/05/against-my-better-judgement.html

 

[sillydoll]

I emailed his wife and this was the last news I got.

He is expecting to arrive in Santiago this Sunday, the 9th and plans to spend a couple of days there. Now that he's on the other side of the mountains, the weather has improved dramatically and I think he's quite happy to be out of the snow. He was expecting light rain the day he left Ourense but after the deluges he encountered earlier, I think the light rain was nothing to worry about. Plus, it's much warmer.

However, if you read his blog, he made it albeit cold, wet and with a sore throat, and should be back in Canada by now.

 

[Dawn of a new Day]

Hi Sil,

how unfortunate about your weather conditions. i had almost perfect weather sept.18-oct30. the 3rd day out from santiago it rained all day. there was one other day that the wind was howling and freezing cold but no rain.
for others information one does not need to walk the 38km. there are basic albergues in
cernadilla (i understand there is no restaurant open) and also an albergue in san salvador de palazueleos.mats on the floor
i stayed in Palacios de Sanabria. Just ask for Theresa. She has rooms and cooks dinner as well. there are 2 bars in this place and a small store. i believe bed was 15E and dinner was 10E.
dawn (made for a more enjoyable day the next day. then we went to Requejo where there is a basic albergue with beds and hot showers.
dawn

 

[sillydoll]

Our winter pilgrim from Canada has sent me a link to his beautiful photos taken whilst he was on the VdLP.
Enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lolita.wies ... eat=email#

 

[MermaidLilli]

One of his first photos I saw was of the albergue in Guillena. Wow, what a huge difference to having slept on the floor in the locker room, which was nasty dirty. Yay for Guillena!!
Lillian

 

[Anniesantiago]

GREAT photos!

Any idea what month/day he left from Sevilla?

 

[sillydoll]

Annie - the website is http://www.haloranch.ca and he left on 6th October. It was unseasonally cold last year and winter came early. It might be quite different this year.