Camino de Santiago (part 3)

Part 3 of my Camino adventure began in an albergue in Le Sauvage, France. The Australian group staying there warned me that a thunderstorm was expected to reach the area between 2:00 and 4:00 that afternoon. It was my plan to get as far as I could before the storm hit. However, another problem was that I was out of clean laundry. The dirty laundry was very foul smelling and damp. Since starting the Camino, I had yet to cast a shadow. The algergue in Le Sauvage had no washing machine and with no sun, clothes simply wouldn’t dry outdoors.

The riding in the morning went well. At about noon, I came to the city of Aumont-Aubrac. My phone indicated there was a laundromat there, which turned out to be four machines in a grocery store parking lot. The location was a bit out of the way. Considering that extra miles and time spent waiting on the machines, it cost me about two extra hours. When I got back on the road, I missed a turn that I mistook for somebody’s driveway. That mistake cost me at least another hour.

Considering these two delays, I was making poor mileage that day. At about 2:00, a light rain started. This quickly turned into a raging downpour. I will admit I’m one of those annoying people who say, “There is no such thing as bad outdoor weather, but there is such a thing as not having the appropriate clothing.” I did have appropriate clothing for rain, which I put on. I also put coverings over my backpack and pannier bags. However, it is simply not fun to ride a bicycle in pouring rain for hours.

At about 4:00 I had covered about 30 true miles only for the day (not counting miles getting off route to do laundry or get lost) I reached the town of Nasbinals. This was a decent size city with a few small hotels. There were a lot of pilgrims wandering around, so I feared they might have already claimed every ben in town. My map didn’t indicate any albergues in town. In fact, the next one was 16.5 kilometers away.

Fortunately, the first hotel I tried, the Hotel La Route d’Argent, which was more like about ten rooms above a restaurant, had a room available, which I happily took to get out of the rain. I spent the rest of the day wandering about Nasbinals in the rain, attending a book reading in French at the church and eating/drinking. It was kind of sad. The only conversation I had was with a woman selling scallop shells, which she painted by hand. I purchased a blue one and tied it to my backpack, where it remained until I returned home.

All things considered, day 2 on the Camino was a bit sad and lonely, but it could have been worse, as I would soon learn.Stay tuned to my newsletter for day 3.

October 31, 2024 Puzzle Question

You have three 60-minute fuses. The fuses burn at uneven rates and you don't have a watch. How can you create a 45-minute fuse.

October 31, 2024 Puzzle Answer

1. Light fuse #1 at one end and fuse #2 at both ends.

2. 30 minutes later, when fuse #2 burns out, light fuse #1 at the other side. In addition, light fuse #3 at one end.

3. An additional 15 minutes later, when fuse #2 burns out, extinguish fuse #3.

November 7, 2024 Puzzle Question

How can you put ten coins in three glasses so that each glass contains an odd number of coins?