On Wednesday the 8th of May 2013, Harold and I walked from O’Cebreiro to Val de Samos; Val de Samos has an albergue in a monastery but Harold did not like the standard of accommodation available there – although he said it was inexpensive. The Brierley distance today was 32.4 kilometres.
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I might have been a mistigrino on that 8th of May 2013, but if you walk long enough and far enough, the mist eventually disappears – even if the rain does not!
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Mist was everywhere when we left the albergue at O’Cebreiro. It was so thick that visibility was very limited.
Harold was not at all deterred by either the mist or the rain. He ALWAYS wore shorts, no matter what weather we got!
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The Camino wound uphill through the mist on that 8th of May day.
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The rain was starting to ease off when I took this photo.
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The Camino was filled by peregrinos on that very wet and misty day, characteristic of the season.
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More peregrinos en route to Samos.
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This was the water world revealed after the rain finally ran out of energy.
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Like the peregrinos, this bird endured the weather and never complained!
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We had nearly arrived in Saria when I took this photo.
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The river in Samos on the 8th of May 2023.
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Fellow peregrinos on the Camino.
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Harold thought the accommodation in this monastery was too austere and preferred to bunk down elsewhere.
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This outline of a pilgrim was embedded into the footpath outside the albergue in Samos.
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Diary Entry Made on Wednesday 8 May 2013 at 5:50 pm
I am staying at Val de Samos in a private albergue. Samos is about halfway between Triacastela and Sarria. We left O'Cebreiro at about 7:00 am and got here at about 5:00 pm. The Brierley distance today was 32.4 kilometres. This means Sarria is about 11.7 kilometres away from here. Sarria is about 114 kilometres from Santiago. [Note: The Brierley distance was actually 118.2 kilometres and not 114 as noted in this diary entry.] I have 5 days to cover that, plus part of Tuesday 14 May 2013 if necessary. It should be fairly straightforward.
O'Cebreiro was covered in mist when we left this morning. It was also raining persistently in a drizzle pattern. It was impossible to avoid getting very wet. The rain and mist persisted until about 11:30 am. By the time we reached Triacastela at about 12:30 pm, the sun was trying to shine. Adopting Spanish customs, we had a big lunch in Triacastela and then walked on in the growing sunshine. My walking was fine even though another blister appeared on the right foot late yesterday afternoon.
Sarria is the last town from which people can walk the Camino and still claim a Compostella. It is about 102 kilometres from Santiago [Note: The Brierley distance is 118.2 kilometres and not 102 kilometres as stated in this diary entry.] and the minimum distance for a Compostella is 100 kilometres. At long last, I feel that Santiago is almost within reach. In addition, it has been several days since I reached an albergue and had to immediately collapse into my sleeping bag.
Distance Walked Today: 32.4 kilometres.
Total Distance Walked So Far: 639 kilometres.
Total Distance Covered So Far: 660.2 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.
Soul Song Number 29 - Pilgrims in the Mist (Mistigrinos)
(8 May 2013)
Most of us know that Diane Fossey revealed to us the Gorillas in the Mist.
Before today, you never knew about Pilgrims in the Mist.
O'Cebreiro was drowning in the mist as you joined the Camino this morning.
Perched on top of its very own mountain,
O'Cebreiro attracts wind, rain and mist from across Galicia.
This morning O'Cebreiro gave you a drama show.
Mist wreathed the Camino.
Rain oozed out of the sky.
Even the birds were muted by the show.
Other pilgrims were lost to sight,
Wrapped in their own envelopes of invisibility.
Just like you were.
The Camino snaked across the mountains.
Now up.
Now down.
Sometimes neither up nor down.
All morning you walked through the mist.
Sometimes you chased Harold.
Sometimes Harold chased you.
The two of you constituted two Mistigrinos sloshing through the mud,
Splashing through the puddles,
But always walking to Santiago.
Yet again you were touched by the Camino.
This was walking to fill anyone with joy.
As the day lengthened, the mist and the rain ran away.
Unable to prevail in the face of your mounting joy.
That was when the day got even better.
With your visual blindness removed,
Now you could truly see the world you were walking in.
It was a world filed with green.
It was a world filled with mountains.
This was Galicia talking to you.
This was Galicia saying ever so casually
"Hey! Have a look at me! Have you ever seen such beauty?"
So at last another long day of walking found its end.
You had never been a Mistigrino before.
It felt so good!
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