Rain, love and laughter

It feels like I haven't been on the internet forever, and yet it is only 3 days. Funny how time is all relative. At the same time I can't believe that it is already Saturday. Today is the 30th day that I am on my way.
And yesterday was exactly one moon, as I started on the last new moon.
Now I have climbed up and down the mountain I was talking about last time. The walk up was nice, the walk down beautiful but a bit tiring for the knees and thighs (I can feel it today) - we went up about 600m in 5-6 km, and down 1000m in also 5-6km.
There is something special about the mountains. It is another world up there. The villages are different, people are different, nature is different. It is hard and peaceful at the same time.
The last 2 days have been incredible.
I had a beautiful experience with rain. The day before yesterday I was walking up, until Foncebadón. And from Rabanal del Camino until Foncebadón, where it was going up the most steeply, it started raining. When I say raining, it was really pouring!! Incredible!
Within less than 10 min I was soaked. My trousers were sticking to my legs, and little by little I could feel that I was only wearing them for decency reasons, as really they didn't protect me at all anymore. And, my shoes started getting wet also. I don't know if the gore-tex suddenly had enough and gave up, or if the socks getting wet started filling the shoes with water, so that every step made a nice splashing sound. The mountain was probably beautiful, but I didn't get much of it, first because I couldn't see much past the front of my hood, and also because I had no inclination to try and do so...
Suddenly I saw a couple walking before me, maybe 20 m ahead. It reassured me, at least I wasn't the only one battling with the rain. Suddenly, as I looked up, they stopped, in the middle of the rain, and exchanged a passionate kiss that lasted at least 30 seconds.
After the original surprise, I could only smile when I passed beside them and greeted them - and realised they were a Spanish couple well into their 40s or 50s. And something shifted in me. I started to smile in the rain. I was wet anyway, so I might as well enjoy this rain that was beautiful and regenerating and freeing in a way. And I started to be thankful. Thankful that my feet were not too sore, that my jacket was completely waterproof, and that my rucksack was also protected, which meant that I would be able to change into dry clothes as soon as I arrived. And the more I was thankful, the more I smiled, the better I felt.
I even had to laugh out loud a few times.
It was just beautiful.