May 26, 2022
Villambistia
Today's ride unfortunately ranks as one of the least enjoyable we have had since arriving in Spain two months ago. A combination of a strong headwind, a lot of time on a truck-filled N-120 and some uninteresting (bordering on ugly) scenery ensured we had little chance of enjoying the ride. With not much changing between here and Logroño I am afraid we still have two similar days ahead of us.
The good news is that Leigh is feeling a lot better. Not much could be more important.
Villambistia, where we are spending the night, is a tiny little village on the Ruta Frances. According to the last census the municipality has a population of 65 giving it a population density of three and half people per square kilometer. That is not much different to Namibia, the second least densely populated country in the world. If it weren't for the pilgrims making their way to Santiago I doubt whether it could continue to exist.
The albergue we are in, the only one in the village is named after San Roque. Twelve days ago, in Galicia, we learnt that he was the patron saint of bachelors, diseased cattle, dogs, falsely accused people, invalids, Istanbul, surgeons, tile-makers, grave-diggers, second-hand dealers, pilgrims, apothecaries as well as of dogs and epidemics. The last one is still appropriate even though the COVID epidemic is no longer front page news. Except of course in Shanghai where my room mate from boarding school is now in his seventieth day of hard lock down. Even a bad day on the road with head winds and lots of traffic must be better than that.
Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 2,114 km (1,313 miles)
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