Camino 2016: Via de La Plata - Day 19 - Zamora to Montamarta

Saturday April 16, 2016
Let's hope I have better luck than yesterday with the blog
Today was a difficult day but it turned out well in the end.
In the albergue the first people started to make a noise and pack up with flashlights soon after 5:00am. I was able to doze until about 6:00 and by then others were up so someone turned the lights on. It doesn't take long to get ready since I prepare everything the night before except perhaps some last minute washing that had needed more time to dry.
The hospitaleiros had prepared some food for breakfast which was nice and then out into a rainy Zamora. I think it had rained all night because there were puddles everywhere and water running down the streets. Finding the way out of town looked easy, just follow the yellow arrows. What I didn't realize was that there are 2 caminos that go through Zamora, the Via de La Plata and the Camino Portuguese so two sets of yellow arrows, all of which look the same. I must have followed the wrong yellow arrows because I found myself heading west instead of north. By the time I realized this and checked the compass on my phone I was quite a way off the route I was looking for. I was also walking through thick heavy mud that was almost impassable in places.
I decided to take roads heading north until I found one heading west and then try and get back on the right trail. This brought me to a small village called La Hiniestra. It had an interesting looking church (with a storks nest). The church was closed but a tablet on the wall talked about the Camino Portuguese which I didn't understand. Surely it should say Via de La Plata? The rain had stopped for a few moments so I was able to take a photo.

The bar was closed but a van was delivering bread to a house with a Tabac sign outside. I asked the driver the way to Montamarta but he just pointed inside what I thought was a house. It turned out to be the local store with a few vegetables and other things you might find in a village store. The person inside was still in a robe and slippers but kindly went outside with me and pointed down one of the streets and said a lot more that I didn't understand. So I headed down the street as she had said. At the bottom I had a choice of left or right. There were some dogs running around that started barking at me and another person opened a window. I asked her the way and she pointed left and said something like " straight ahead for many kilometers".
I thanked her and set off along the unpaved road for the many kilometers in the rain which had now started in earnest, along with wind blowing from the west. My compass showed that I was heading north so I felt confident. I have a Spanish phone which also has google maps but it kept telling me to upgrade. I finally was able to get it back to normal under the only underpass on the whole 15 or so Km in the driving rain.

Fortunately the unpaved road did not appear to be used by heavy tractors and was generally free of mud but a lot of puddles and standing water in the fields.

With the gps on the Spanish phone I was able to follow the way when the rain relented enough to let me use it. I didn't see another person or car for the whole time but since I now knew where I was headed I felt fine except for being wet from my elbows to my hands and from my knees down to and including my boots.
My road had been running parallel to and west of the Camino trail about 1km away. I finally reached the point where I could move over and turned right at an intersection with a paved road. After a little while a small truck stopped next to me and asked if I was looking for somewhere to stay. He said the albergue had no heating and only cold water, did I want to stay in a Casa Rural. I thought for a few seconds as everything dripped from me and said yes. He told me to get in and he took me to a house in Montamarta.
I have a heated bedroom and there is a sitting room and kitchen along with two bathrooms and showers. Cost is EUR 20 for the night.
I showered and washed some of my clothes and hung these along with other wet clothes out to dry since the rain had now stopped. I then went to a store just round the corner to buy some food for lunch and for the road tomorrow. As I was coming out of the store Mike and Ruth appeared looking for a Casa Rural. They too had got on the wrong trail, along with others and had even talked to the person in the Tabac store! They had decided that the albergue was not for them tonight. They came to my Casa Rural and were given another nice room. They cleaned up and took care of wet clothes etc. and now we are sitting in a nice warm house while Ruth is making a soup/stew for dinner tonight. Only downside is no wifi here. We have to go across the street to the bar for that which is a bit of a nuisance.
Well, as soon as we got here the rain stopped and the sun even came out but it has stayed windy so the clothes are drying well.
As we talked I learned several people made the same mistake leaving Zamora this morning due to the conflicting signs and yellow arrows. Nobody's guide book gave indication of this issue, German, English, French, Italian. One would have thought somebody would have pointed out the need to be careful of this. It makes us feel better that we were not the only people to have this problem.
After tomorrow I have a decision to make. The Camino Via de La Plata continues north to Astorga where it joins the Camino Francés to Santiago. There is also the Camino Sanabres which goes west and then north to Santiago. My original plan had been to take the Camino Sanabres but after all the rain and the mud and the limited number of pilgrims on the Sanabres I have decided to continue to Astorga and join the Francés to Santiago. This part will be along part of the same route as my 2013 Camino but the paths are generally not so muddy and there are more pilgrims there. I am concerned about walking alone on the Sanabres, especially after my 2014 experience on the early part of the Via de La Plata when I broke an ankle. I was so fortunate to have other pilgrims with me.
Other than the route it doesn't really change anything for me as the distance is about the same and I will still have the luxury of time for meditation and the joy of once again arriving at the tomb of my patron saint in Santiago.

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