Camino del Norte Day 39: Vilalba to Baamonde 23 km

We woke up this morning at our usual time of around 8am (the sun doesn’t come up until 8:30 and we’re in no rush…) We packed up and went down to the kitchen to make coffee and have some cereal for breakfast. Around 8:30, several police officers arrived and seemed surprised that everyone was still in the albergue. They pointed out that the official rules say we must leave by 8am (all the Xunta albergues have this rule posted, but no one has enforced it with the sun coming up so late) and asked us to leave as soon as possible. At least half the people were still sleeping up in the dormitory, so the policement went to rouse them and hustle them back out onto the Camino.

This was a really beautiful day with perfect sunny weather and cool temperatures. The Galician countryside was verdant, with green moss growing on the all the ancient stone walls lining the path. We stopped for lunch along a stone bridge and soaked up the sun while feasting on tuna, tomatoes and cookies (I apparently forgot to buy the bread, though…)

Baamonde albergue is beautiful, with room for over 90 people. There are rooms of 4, 6 and 8 on the ground floor, and the second floor is a loft with many beds. There is a large kitchen (though only one of the burners worked), a very comfortable dining room with several tables and chairs as well as comfy couches. There’s a pleasant green garden area outside with well-tended plants. The grocery store is about 2 min. away, and there are two bars and a pharmacy.

We went to the store to buy dinner supplies as well as stock up for tomorrow (not only is it Sunday tomorrow but we will be sleeping in Miraz, a town without a proper shop or restaurant, so we will carry all our food). The shop was very reasonably priced for a such a small one and we were able to find everything we needed.

The weather turned very cold in the evening and the albergue turned on the heat! I don’t think I’ve ever been in an albergue with the heat on, it was quite toasty and handy for drying wet clothes. Dave and I were quite tired, so headed to bed around 9:30pm. Some of our fellow pilgrims were up talking until well after midnight (in the common room, since it was so cold outside, so we could hear everything and the room had no door to close against the sound. In spite of the noise, we slept great.