Arzúa

October 18
In Arzúa, we check into the Xunta.

We've stopped for the day relatively early, so I do my laundry by hand but decide to use the dryer.  It's cool and damp and I'm doubtful about how well the clothes will dry.  Indeed, it turns out to be not a very good dryer.  After thirty minutes, the clothes are more than a bit damp. 

One nice thing about this albergue, in our opinion anyway, is that the dorm room ceiling is sloped.  The beds along the walls, therefore, have no upper bunk.  We have two of these beds.  (Check out the "sheets."  In a handful of other albergues there have been actual cloth sheets, but most of the time it's these, and we are responsible for making the bed for the night and then unmaking it and tossing the sheets in the morning.  I'm surprised and disgusted at how many people don't even do this simple thing before they leave.)  My bed is also conveniently located next to the radiator, so I drape my laundry over it to finish drying.

We head out to scout the immediate area and find a place with WiFi, to hopefully send more posts.  We find a church and note that it has a service at 7:00, then locate a nearby cafeteria that has delicious tapas ("Just like I make at home," says the owner), an outlet, and WiFi.  We park here until it's time to head to the church for Mass.

One thing about the churches here.  Most of them are very old, made of stone, and unheated.  The people come in their coats and hats and scarves and whatever else keeps them warm.  I'm in just one of my safari shirts, thin cargo pants, and flip-flops.  I freeze through the service, which makes it feel like it's lasting forever.  A group of Italian pilgrims is present to see one of their group concelebrate the Mass in Italian.  The girl from Texas is here, too.  After Mass, the priest invites any peregrinos to the front for a blessing.  Between him and the concelebrant, the blessing is conferred in Spanish, Italian, and English.  It's very moving because he goes around and places his hands on each of our heads in addition to the group blessing.  At the back of the church, before we leave, we get our sello and sign the register.

By the time we return from Mass to the Xunta, most of my clothes are dry.  I have to leave a shirt and pair of socks on a bit longer, but that's better than air-drying them off my pack tomorrow, when who knows what the weather might be.  Ibuprofen for my feet, but at least I'm cozy warm tonight.