Stage Twenty Six –Acebo to Ponferrada

16  km

November 3, 2011

The Rainbow!

Pam and I finally discovered the value in stuffing your boots with newspaper at night. It really absorbs the moisture. A nice breakfast was set out for us in the hotel. We ate and off we went through this quaint little town. Suddenly Pam exclaimed.. “ A rainbow..it means good luck”! So we stopped to take pictures. At that moment a pack of three dogs came bounding up the street and I could see Nick and Gabriel just leaving their albergue. They were getting a later start too.

As we started down the street and Pam was tucking her camera back into her waistpack, she suddenly realized she didn’t have her wallet. It contained all her cash, credit cards and debit cards. Panic set in for her. We retraced our steps. I thought for sure it would be where we stopped to take the pictures..but, no. So we went back to the hotel and banged on the door. We were lucky the cleaning lady heard us as it was locked up. She let Pam in and back into the room but she found nothing. Now what!!  We checked the bar where we had dinner the night before, but no luck there. Well, her panic soon turned to action. She got the emergency numbers to cancel credit cards and bank cards from Gabriel, who had access on his phone. Then she tried calling several times, getting cut off. I even went back to the room to double check cause I know how I get when panicked. Sometimes you can miss things, but no luck. By the time she got things figured out, it was 10:30 and we were just starting our walk. Pam had to get to the next larger center to find the Western Union office before it closed. She was getting cash wired to her. That was thankfully only 16 km away.

The walk was overcast today but not raining until we entered Ponferrada. I walked with Nick all day. Pam was so stressed about the wallet I couldn’t keep up to her. Gabriel walked with her and kept her company all day. This was a difficult downhill day that killed my legs and took all my attention. We checked into the San Nicholas albergue. Nick wondered if he would get a discount being named after the saint and all. This was a parish albergue but they made certain they got their donation. They made Pam feel so bad she burst into tears and told them she had no money, no credit cards, no bank cards. She borrowed some cash from me to satisfy them.

Off she went to find the Western Union office, which was located in the Post Office. The guys and I went off to get some groceries and cooked a pasta meal for the four of us in the albergue.

It was nice to cook a meal for a change, but you really have to get in there and get your space and queue. The South Koreans swoop in and cook elaborate meals for a large group. The Italians and Spanish also cook in large groups but they eat later than the rest. We ate our meal waiting for Pam and when she arrived she was soo happy. Her parents had wired her a bunch of cash and she was set for the rest of her walk ..at least to Santiago. Her son was sending her other credit card to her in Santiago, express post! Now she wanted to celebrate and buy drinks. We walked around the castle and squares of Ponferrada in the dark, looking for a suitable bar. I saw a cute little bull dog and stopped to talk to its owners. They then pointed out a cool little bar in the basement of an old stone building. It pays to talk to strangers!! We drank sangria and had really great tapas..potatoes with a sauce on them. Then back to the noisy albergue, in the drizzle. All was good..Pam was good, after a very stressful day.

We pondered the luck of the rainbow. Pam had not felt lucky at all. I decided it was lucky she discovered the loss of her wallet when she did or she would have really had to back track and it would have been even more puzzling. Either someone picked her pocket the night before or it fell out on the way home on the street and someone picked it up. Pam thought the dogs picked it up and took it, but I don't think so.

I also came to the realization that I would not reach Santiago on the 11th of November. 11/11/11. I thought it would have been nice, but with two short days of walking I was now a day behind.