On Tuesday the 30th of April 2013, I walked from Bercianos del Real Camino to Mansilla de las Mulas. The wind had eased off by this Tuesday, but the rain substituted for the wind. It was extremely cold and extremely wet for most of my pilgrimage that day. I walked about 27 kilometres that day. The albergue at Mansilla de las Mulas was run by a family and it was warm with good quality food. Because I arrived at the albergue in the early afternoon, I was able to rest for most of the afternoon.
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Throughout the whole of my walking on that Tuesday the 30th of April, I walked through continuous rain. I stopped trying to avoid getting wet because trying to avoid the wet was impossible and pointless. I accepted that I was saturated and that I would continue to be saturated while I still had walking to do that day. In a sense, it was a relief to abandon myself to the rain.
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All peregrinos became saturated by the rain on that Tuesday.
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As a South Australian, I was astonished that it was even possible for so much rain to fall. It is a cliché, but it is factually true. South Australia is the driest State in the driest country in the world. Our summer officially lasts from 1 December to the end of the following February. The rain stops falling at about the end of November and virtually zero rain falls until late April in the next year. Our maximum summer temperatures often reach 37 Celsius at about 10.00 am and stay at about 37 Celsius until well after sunset. Summer maximum temperatures – without a drop of rain falling for months on end – regularly reach 45 Celsius.
My body was shocked by the combination of the bitter cold and the rain which fell all day. When it does rain in Adelaide, it is unusual for the rain to last all day.
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Even the Camino way marker looked half drowned by the rain.
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My walking that Tuesday was almost a swim through a continuous world of water.
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Diary Entry Made on Tuesday 30 April 2013 at 3:15 pm
I am at an albergue in Mansilla de las Mulas. The Brierley distance from Bercianos del Real Camino is given as 26.6 kilometres. I left Bercianos del Real Camino at about 7:30 am and got here at about 1:30 pm. That makes 6 hours to cover 26.6 kilometres which gives a rate of about 4.43 kilometres per hour inclusive of a half hour break for coffee and tortilla.
The walking was hard work today. It was raining lightly when I left Bercianos del Real Camino, but the rain increased steadily as the walk went on. I met two very pleasant Australians who have just got married and who are doing the Camino as part of their honeymoon - Anthony and Miriam..
I was first into this albergue and I got the pick of the beds and first use of the hot water in the shower. It has a bar downstairs, a pilgrim menu and breakfast for €20.00. It is a great place to stop and get out of the rain after four days of very hard walking because of the wind and rain. I have only 18 kilometres to go tomorrow to reach Leon.
Distance Walked Today: 26.6 kilometres.
Total Distance Walked So Far: 425.8 kilometres.
Total Distance Covered So Far: 447.2 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.
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Soul Song Number 20 - Dances With Rain
(30 April 2013)
Your boots go splash.
Water sloshes over your legs.
You don't care anymore.
You are dancing with the rain.
There are flat ruts made by countless boots.
These are the best places to put your own boots.
There is a surer surface.
These ruts are lower than the middle of the track though.
So they are full of water.
Water seeks out the lowest possible level.
So it is difficult to walk in the ruts without getting very wet.
You have tried walking on the very edges of the Path,
But the edges all have slopes of their own.
Slopes that direct the water into the ruts.
Slopes that direct the water all over your feet and legs.
So you gave up on trying to avoid the ruts made by other pilgrims.
Everywhere you walk is full of water,
So at least you can try and walk where there is a firm footing.
That means that now you are dancing with the rain,
While your feet and boots get even wetter.
While the rain soaks your entire body.
While the cold numbs even your teeth.
Why are you doing this?
Sometimes you are certain.
At other times the reasons are fogged by rain,
Just like today is fogged by rain.
You tell yourself, you are on a pilgrimage.
You want to wash the rubbish from your mind.
That is why you are here.
So the rain continues to tumble down,
While you continue to do your dances with rain.
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