18. Tag 16 nach Montamarta

Yesterday it got quite crowded. In my room came 2 people, Hermann, an Italian who could speak German, and Simone from Leipzig. The two have been together for a few days. We talked a bit. In the other rooms, there were people speaking Dutch. Two people ordered dinner from the owner, which, according to the guidebook, is not worth it. I had eaten my leftovers and stayed in bed. I found it so cold. And then I went to bed early. 

At 4:20 in the morning, I woke up. I quietly packed my things and took them to the kitchen. I think the Italian woke up, but I was really quiet. I had breakfast and then armed myself with almost all my clothes, because it was a staggering 1 degree outside and it was supposed to reach a maximum of 5/6 degrees today. I wore 1 shirt, 2 long shirts, a sweater jacket, a hat, 2 scarves, and my rain poncho. And as I went outside, I must say that the layered look really works. I wasn’t cold except for my hands. However, over time, the cold increased due to the wind. But I set off at 4:40. Also, I left that early because there was a long stage ahead. It went relatively quickly into the forest and across fields. Today I took relatively few photos because my hands were just too cold. I didn’t bring gloves. Last winter on the Camino, I had some with me, but never wore them because they didn’t really keep warm, and you have to take them off constantly for your phone. In the next larger town, it felt like everyone was still asleep. And it went back into the forest. Even though there were few animals today, it was a beautiful stretch in terms of scenery. What I forgot to mention was that I slept well but had very unpleasant dreams. I couldn't remember them clearly again, but they were not pleasant dreams, and somehow I wasn't in the best mood on the way, which was also due to the cold. And at some point, I saw Zamora in the distance and it took exactly 2.5 hours until I actually got there. It’s really exhausting when you see the city and think you're almost there, but then you still have to walk for so long. In Zamora, I had to take a little detour because the stone bridge, the actual path, was closed. I looked around a bit in the city and there are some cathedrals there, but I was just too cold to check everything out, so I quickly grabbed a few yogurts from the supermarket and took a short break on a bench. But not for long, because it was still cold. Before the break, I thought about maybe taking off the sweater jacket, but then I decided against it. Of course, it was a bit warm when the sun came out, but mostly it was cold, and the wind became increasingly harsh. Then I moved on and left the city. Then it was a stretch along the highway and then through a village, before running again next to the highway along a gravel path. The good thing is that you can’t really get lost on this road. But it went along this road for another 13 kilometers. I saw a pilgrim who, just before I overtook him, took a break, and then I met 2 Spaniards, but I moved on because they were very slow. My goal was to go another 12 kilometers after the village to a donation hostel, which is said to be very nice and I think I would also manage that in time, but the weather messed up my plans because it started to rain in the village, and according to the weather app, it would rain for the next 3 hours too. So, I changed my mind and stayed in the village. I had already reserved a single room for 25€ just in case. And that’s exactly where I headed to. And I must say, it’s a really nice room. With heating, which I immediately turned up to the highest setting. I then took a shower and went to bed. The supermarket is around the corner, but it was raining, and I didn’t feel like going out into the cold anymore. So I finished my last leftovers and got comfortable in bed with the heating. Today, I walked a proud 55 kilometers, and I think I could have done more, but with rain it would have been quite unpleasant. So tomorrow I will walk 47 kilometers. I’m going to lie down in bed now and won’t do anything further today. In that sense. Until tomorrow