Another Forrest Gump Day...

We knew that today was forecast to be rain, and it certainly didn't disappoint. In the middle of the night last night, the thunder and lightning began in earnest. I secretly told myself that this was ludicrous and there was no way I was getting out of bed in the morning to walk in THAT! But when I woke up, it was only a steady drizzle and I decided that maybe I was being too much of a wimp. So we hoisted packs and set out for Sagahun.

Okay...back up. The truth about rain hiking is much more complex than that. You don't just put on your pack and go. Everything in our packs is put into giant zip lock bags. Worst thing at the end of the day is arriving to your destination exhausted and finding everything in your pack is cold and wet! Remember,  even our beds are in there!  Must take precautions to have dry bedding and clothes and everything else in there.

Then you cover all of your pack with a special rain cover designed to fit your pack. Then we hoist packs. Top it all off with special backpack rain panchos that cover your body plus the pack. NOW you can hit the trail.

The rain immediately showed it's true colors with flooded streets on the way out of town, only to be followed by flooded trails and man-eating puddles. It wasn't long before my pants legs were so wet that they began to run water in to my socks and boots.

Wet feet...A pilgrim's nightmare. Wet feet is a death sentence. It is a definite precursor to blisters. And once your boots are full of water, there's no remedy till you can get dry.

So, the Forrest Gump rain scene began playing itself out in our day.  It was raining big rain, and little rain. Stinging rain and itty bitty rain. Drippy rain and big drop rain and cold rain and misty rain. It even seemed to rain up from the ground sometimes. There was rain dripping from my hat and rain on my glasses. Every step made feet slosh in my boots. We stopped for shelter and coffee an a cafe in a tiny town and I crossed legs at the table, only to have water run out of the heel of my boot. On several occasions, lightening would flash in the distance and we would judge how far it was from us, trying to figure out distances to the next shelter or town. PS. ..It was a wet, rainy day.

But we had fun, too! I'm so glad that our friend from New Zealand (Raewyn)  teamed up with us early in the day and we walked together. She keeps us in stitches! We laugh so much when we are around her, and laughter is GREAT medicine when you are wet and cold and a little miserable.

End result...We made it to Sagahun, which is the official geographical center point on the Camino Frances! Officially halfway there! Raewyn says, "Hey, take one step that way. Now you are officially MORE THAN halfway there!" This is why I love this woman!

PS...no new blisters! It's a miracle!