Day: August 29, 2023

O Pedrouzo to Lavacolla

Walked today: 4.3 mi. Camino2023: 308 mi.

Last night we reviewed five different weather apps, including Accuweather, WeatherBug, WeatherRadar and WeatherChannel and all confirmed there would be 10% or less chance of rain this morning. (7:00-11:00).

This morning when we got ready to leave CHE, we again reviewed all 4 apps, including their respective radar and again confirmed no chance of rain this morning. So, we included rain gear in our day packs (wise pilgrims that we are) and began our walk.

Within 10 minutes, a very fine rain began, causing us to put on our rain gear immediately to keep from getting soaked and that condition prevailed until we finished walking at 10:30.

Linda joining the Camino on a path from Pensión CHE Note 2 pilgrims coming up behind her and to her left

Completely baffled by the totally un-forecasted precipitation of the morning, we concluded that what we experienced was not normal rain droplets from the sky from a cloud, that is picked up by radar. We were actually walking in a cloud virtually resting on or just above the ground consisting of a fine mist, not raindrops, all around us … for the duration of most of the walk.

This was what the Camino looked like for the first mile. It was a gradual uphill pull in the fine mist, not picked up in our photos.
The path got a little less defined just before the airport.
That’s part of the Santiago airport runway from where we will takeoff for Paris, early Friday morning.
We passed this marker about 13 km (8 miles) from the Santiago Catedral as we emerged momentarily from the woods to reveal one of the expressways serving the city.
Here we are continuing our walk around one end of the airport runway and back into the woods again.

We walked into the hamlet of San Payo (pop.25) where we stopped for breakfast. There were a hundred or so pilgrims in line to order, get their credential stamped, use the toilet. The rest filled the inside tables, except for the one Linda grabbed for us. The outside tables were unused because of the continuing non-rain.

Being the patient pilgrims we are, we waited for the lines to dissipate, then ordered, got our credentials stamped, inspected the restrooms and actually ate our breakfast before the next surge arrived.

We returned to the typical dirt path through the woods just before entering Lavacolla, our destination.
A dirt path led us to the main street in the village of Lavacolla (pop. 171).
The dirt path became a paved street.
One of a number of impressive looking homes seen as we walked into Lavacolla.
Getting nearer to our lodging.
Some pilgrims just ahead of us as we arrived at Pensión Xacobeo.
Pensión Xacobeo

We stopped and chatted briefly with the owner. She welcomed us and said we could check in and leave our poles/ backpacks, etc. but our room was still being cleaned and would not be ready until 1:00.

We left our poles (our transported packs had already arrived) and walked another few hundred yards to the village square and hung out at Bar/Cafe A Concha.

A Concha
The Iglesia de Benaval/San Pelayo overlooks the village square
Looking down from the church at the village square

Lavacolla ( Latin: “Lavamentula”) literally means “wash private parts.” Medieval pilgrims seldom if ever bathed along the journey and ridiculed Muslim and Jewish enthusiasms for personal hygiene, so apparently took advantage of the small stream that runs through the village to cleanse themselves for arrival in Santiago.

The stream looking rather chilly for bathing today, but most pilgrims these days have already had a bath/shower or two along the way to Santiago.

We complimented today’s short walk with an equally easy afternoon in Lavacolla and had our host order a pizza for us, delivered to the pensión’s self-catering dining area.

The above is the 4 mile route we walked this morning, from Pensión CHE, going around part of the airport then advancing to within 10km (6 miles) of the Santiago Catedral.

We’re looking forward to our walk into Santiago tomorrow morning and the conclusion of our 5th Camino, Camino2023.