Again we woke up to sunshine. As we sat down in the café bar of the Meson Novo to have breakfast, it seemed the landlord was driving pilgrims back to Bruma to continue where they – and we – left off. We debated whether to ask if a lift was possible but decided to ask how to get back on the camino instead. Turns out the trail was just down a side road by the hotel so we might as well just get walking. It was shaping up to be quite warm, so we had lots of water and Aquarius with us.
At the first café stop we made a monumental mistake and had a quick drink in Café Porto, since that was the only bar in town according to our info. Its toilet facilities were … interesting, to put it that way. We moved on quite quickly and then saw that there was a brand new bar just down the road! Would have preferred to stop there, so consider yourself informed – there is another bar. Not only is it lovely, it has some very unique artwork around it … I will post pics instead of trying to explain …
It was lucky that this was early in the morning or we would have thought we were drunk or had got sunstroke! It caused a few giggles, that’s for sure.
We also stopped for a cool-down, refill and a drink in Buscas, and realised that we would be late – again. But that’s why we booked beforehand, so we could take our time and not have to rush. Already it looked like most people had walked past us and they were definitely walking faster. Oh well. As long as we enjoyed ourselves, and we did, we had no intentions of hurrying.
Until we got to Café bar O Cruceiro, the last stop before Sigüeiro, and sat down to have half a bocadillo and take the rest for a picnic along the way. It was now nearly three o’clock and the lovely English speaking lady who runs the bar told us it might be an idea to call our next accommodation and confirm that we were on our way. Apparently a lot of places won’t hold your room or bed unless you confirm if you will be “late” which is what we would be. We had already lost our room to someone faster in Betanzos and didn’t want it to happen again. So we tried to call, the lady tried to call, we sent a text message to the mobile number … but no answer. At least we had tried and the caller ID should hopefully be enough to prove that we did get in touch. I still think I shouldn’t have to, as I had booked, but this is how all the caminos are becoming these days. When you book, ask if you need to confirm on the day!
The path made up for it though, to an extent. But as we got closer to Sigüeiro, we walked on seemingly endless, straight forest roads, and then into an industrial area, before we finally arrived. It had been a hot day, and the last 5 kms were hard work. We were very much looking forward to our room and the lovely big bathroom with a huge shower head, like we had seen in the photos on the website. It must be bliss!
Only … it wasn’t. When we got to Hostal Sigüeiro, there was a band warming up in the back. We finally found a woman who could check us in, and she showed us to a quite small room with two beds and a large basin in the room. That made me suspicious. It turned out that there was no lovely big bathroom, but a black glass cubicle in a corner of the room with a toilet and a shower end with a huge shower head, but no ceiling! So for all the black glass and the sliding door, you might as well just be showering and going to the loo behind a curtain in the corner of the room. We asked the lady if we had the right room, as this seemed a bit … less luxurious than we expected, and were shown a different room with the same bathroom set-up, but a double bed! Well no, thanks. She didn’t seem to understand what we were unhappy with, just said it was “French”. ?
However, we were tired, we had a bed each, and there was a lovely shower there if nothing else. We were pilgrims after all and thankful for that. (Top tip: Just take turns leaving the room for a bit.)
Refreshed and showered we went through the bar and into the garden by the river, and found a table at the far end where the band wasn’t so loud. The view wasn’t bad either:
Children were playing in the river, whole families with three or even four generations had come to see the band and everyone was in a party mood. Suddenly the Hostal seemed well worth the price!
When it started getting cold and we started getting tired, we moved indoors for a night cap before we turned in.
Somewhere Slowly 