It’s a funny thing, preconception. Often we get preconceived ideas from our childhood and they surface in ways that surprise us. For example, I have a preconception of what Spain is like in terms of its weather. I could be wrong but I think this stems from seeing El Cid in the cinema with my Dad. All that heat and dust – Christians and Moors battling over what seemed, to a six-year old, as a lot of rocks and sand.
This kind of ingrained prejudice is hard to root out. However, today I think my assumptions about Spain as a hot and dry country finally crashed in bloody ruins. I walked 31km today – not an excessive distance, even though it was hilly, and even though I hadn’t done any exercise in the last fortnight. But the weather was a little damp. We’re not talking heavy showers here. We’re not talking persistent rain. We’re not talking those intense thundery downpours followed by sunshine. We’re talking intense thundery downpours for an unrelenting 6 hours. I got soaked. My overpriced (because it didn’t work) kit – all Swiss brands, goretex’d stuff – was overwhelmed by the sheer fury of the rain. Probably too much information for a blog but when one’s underpants have been thoroughly washed and rinsed while one is still wearing them, one knows one has been through a serious soaking. I think I passed through some nice places but to be honest I was more concerned with just keeping going. I saw some nice stuff – an arrow made out of scallop shells pointing along the Way, an old monastery – but there was no way to take a photo. As it is, I think my camera is somewhat stuffed – I was keeping it handy and not in dry-bags with everything else. Mistake.
Amusingly, the rain stopped almost the moment I got to my hotel in Pontedeume. Don’t get me wrong, I like the rain. Ever since working in Saudi, I’ve been one for, if we have to make a choice, give me too much water rather than too little. It’s just that a little moderation would be nice.
Still, I’ve done the first 31km. And I’m alive and not rushing off to a medical emergency so I’m counting that as success. Most importantly, the wonderful Galician Estrella beer has made a welcome reappearance…
Comments