Distance traveled: 24.2 km

Our good luck when it came to the weather had run out; after enjoying only dry walks after the first day that began in the rain, today started and ended in the rain. We suited up as best as we could while still inside and then started walking.

I learned again that nothing is truly waterproof; within 30 minutes, everything I was wearing was thoroughly soaked. We were lucky that it wasn’t yet cold enough to make this dangerous, though I was definitely cold. I learned that stopping actually made things feel worse: as soon as you got out of the rain, you became more aware of how wet you really were, and as soon as you went back into the rain, you felt ten times colder. I was thankful to have Adam by my side to keep the conversation flowing so that I could focus on something else.

In the late morning, we passed through our first grape vines in quite a while. I so wished I could have walked through these on a nicer day; the colors were already striking under the gray sky:

We arrived at the 200 kilometer mark in the afternoon. I think perhaps I look more soaked in the picture below, though I don’t know how that could be possible:

Again, this would have been pretty to walk through on a sunny day…

Upon arrival in Villafranca, I had my first experience of showing up to an albergue and being told that it was full. (Unfortunately for us, this albergue was on the other side of town; we’d walked about 10 extra minutes in order to get there.) It was the same story at the second one we tried. Apparently, people had thought to call ahead given the weather. My patience was non-existent at that point, so I checked myself into a hotel (which I knew would have vacancies!), and Adam eventually found a comfortable place for himself. (This was my least pilgrim-like moment of the Camino, I think.)

Stepping into a hot bath was as pleasant as the rain had been unpleasant, though part of me grimaced at the idea of submerging myself in water when I was so thoroughly soaked already. I gave all of my clothes to the hotel staff to wash and dry for me and spent the next several hours recovering in bed. Thankfully, everything inside my backpack had stayed dry within the individual plastic bags in which I’d packed everything. The backpack itself was soaked through despite the rain cover. Nothing is waterproof!!!

I eventually emerged into a rain-free evening and met Mark and Adam for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Mark had ended up in a hotel too, just around the corner from mine. It was a relaxed end to a very tough day.