Day 42

Had a good night in O Coto---a lovely meal put on for Anne and I and the only other person staying---Reece who we had connected with a few days earlier. We discovered a shared interest in morning pages and changing careers. This morning we had the usual Spanish breakfast of bread and jam to fortify us for the day. We needed all the help we could get as it was pouring rain and predicted to continue all day---and for once the predictions were correct. By the time we got to Melide,we were both soaking wet from rain and sweat and my formerly waterproof boots had lost their excellent record of keeping my feet dry. As we sat under an awning outside a cafe in Melide, Anne decided on the only sensible option and get a cab the rest of the way(14kms)to Arzua. Another Aussie couple had just joined us at the cafe and decided the same thing---that there was nothing to be gained by walking 14 km in heavy rain when you are already soaking wet. For me it was a different equation---having walked every inch of 2 Caminos and 41.5 days of a third Camino, I didn't want to stop walking just because it was pouring rain---and I decided that I couldn't get any wetter so I decided to continue on. Everyone happy with their own decisions.however it is a harder day walking in the rain especially when it is reasonably heavy. Most of the route today wS dirt paths either going slightly uphill or slightly downhill---and the path are well worn from centuries of pilgrims on the track.So the track acts as a drainage system for all the water so there is nearly always a stream of water on the path---at times the path is completely covered with water. My good fortune today was catching up with 5 American women that we came across a few days ago and established a good connection.I could tell by their greetings that I was still in good standing with them so decided to travel with them for the last 5 hours---and it made all the difference to my day. We kept on breaking up into different groups of two or three and the time and kms seemed to go quicker. Finally got to Azura at 3 just as Anne was about to send out a search party but in the end it was an enjoyable day .currently have all my wet clothes draped all over our bedroom trying to dry everything g overnight ready for another day tomorrow---hopefully it will be our second last day!!!!