Day 9 Stats:
Distance = 54.25 km
Elev Gain = 881 m
Time = 3h 8m
The day began with me realizing that I should’ve put my shoes in front of the heaters like the hikers did. My shoes we’re still pretty wet from the day before. Luckily this wouldn’t matter that much, because I would begin my day in the rain, so my feet were wet and cold about 10 minutes after I set off.
I have zero photos from this day, because I couldn’t really stop to take any, because it was raining. Not the entirety of my ride, but most of it. I do have this cool little video of some doggo’s (friendly ones, luckily) following me.
My last encounter with a dog on this day was NOT so nice. It did chase me, but I was lucky enough to be on a slight downhill so I could outrun it fairly easily. I did also encounter a small deer on one hike-a-bike section and a hawk on a bridge, so that was pretty cool :) I arrived in Sobrado around noon, which as per usual was a little bit too early and the Albergue wasn’t yet open, so I went to the nearest little café and had some lunch whilst I waited for the time to tick by.
Got to talking with a nice lady from New Zealand as we both waited for our respective lunches to arrive. She said something to me that I quite liked. “You don’t get the Camino you want, you get the Camino you need.”
Lunch finished, we both went out separate ways. I got a few supplies from a little outdoor market, fruits and veggies for the rest of the day and the next morning. Then I went to go check in at the Monastery. What an epic place to stay on one of my last nights.
It was great exploring the Monastery. I had some alone time in the main Cathedral (photo 9 & 12). The acoustics in there were incredible and I could imagine how beautiful a choir would sound within the space. The monuments people built to God is pretty incredible although ultimately unnecessary I think.
I hadn't met a lot of cyclists on my trip. Meaning, ones also riding the route I was on or ones that I rode with for some time. There was one day I encountered a guy with a goatee (where, I don't remember). I think on day 8 there was a part where I was following a whole group of other wet cyclists and passed them. And on my first day some old German tourists managed to out ride me to my surprise until I realized, they all had E-bikes. Haha.
I met Allison from the States whom I figured I would hang out with later and share some battle stories, but that never materialized. Oh well.
I also found out why the Albergue in Vilalba had no cutlery or utensils et cetera. It was some agreement the government had with the private Albergues for the past two years, that they wouldn't provide any of that (perhaps as a means to force people to use and pay for more expensive private stays). NOT cool, but this was supposedly the last year. Let's hope this is true.