Camino Frances 2018 day 5 -

We were all woken quite suddenly this morning at 01:22 by the fire alarm going off. The three of us were worried and were out of bed, valuable is arms ready to evacuate. The others in the albergue looked mildly annoyed and were going toilet as though the alarm was not going off so we assumed that we probably didn't need to worry. After five or so minutes a member of staff came around and told us not to worry, everything was fine so we went back to bed.

In the morning everything was almost dry and seeing as it was due to be raining again anyway we didn't worry too much that things were damp - our boots at least were dryish and so alright to walk in.

The morning was at first cool but dry but this did not last for very long.

The Church just outside the town wasn't meant to be open until 9:30 but opened early so we went in to get a sello and when we came out it was pouring down.

We stopped at Casonova for a hot chocolate and dripped a lot over the poor owner's floor before heading back out into the rain.

Most of the day was a bit of a haze o0f walking through rain - we stopped at another bar to dry off a bit more but were soaked to the skin almost as soon as we headed out.

Four years ago when we walked this section of the Camino we saw a Pilgrim with a prosthetic leg who had cycled the Camino before and was trying to save enough money to do it again, this time we saw him again and he was doing wax stamps on credentials for a euro so we all did that and laughed a bit about the rain.

We got into Meliede and stopped for another drink before continuing on again.

When we got into Arca and the rain was only a drizzle. My diary notes that 'Alberge warm! Nice albergue'.

The albergue was 'The Way' and it's staff were very nice and helpful - there were even rolls of brown paper to stuff our boots with to help them to dry out.

There were a group of Irish Pilgrims in the same room of us - ten or so young people and three older ones who we later discovered were Guides! We had a nice chat with them about Guiding.

That night we went out to eat.

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The Camino Primitivo

The Camino Primitivo (or the Original Way) is reportedly the very first Camino Way to Santiago in the 9 th century when most of Spain was under the control of the Moors and it runs from near the city of Ovideo in Asturias as it starts in Villavicosa (which also lies on the Camino Norte so many people follow this Way from Basque city of San Sebastian (Donosti in Basque) or in from the French border at Irun ( this route then hugs the Bay of Biscay passing through Guernica, Bilbao, Santander, Llanes before going under the Picos de Europa and then heads along the coast to Ovideo) before branching off onto the Primitivo which goes across the mountains and through the city of Lugo before joining the Frances at Melide. The route is 320km long. Image taken from https://viaalpina2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/camino-del-norte-camino-primitivo/

Symbols of the three main Christian Pilgrimages

The symbol of the Pilgrim to Santiago is the Scallop shell of which many can be found on the coast of Galicia and it is actually a symbol of the Pilgrimage (and has become a symbol of other Christian Pilgrimages too) partly because you could find the shell easily there and so could go back home and show it off as proof that you had done the Pilgrimage. It has also been included in carvings in some Churches.

Pilgrims' Trail to Saint Michels Mont, France

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On the Camino

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