Picture the scene, it is 8.30pm and I am taking advantage of the fact that I have a two bed cubicle to myself. My kit for the morning is spread out, so that I don’t have to fumble around in my rucksack, and I am happily racing towards the end of the only book I brought with me for the trip. It feels like the height of luxury to have this amount of privacy. And then the curtain is ripped aside and a young man walks in. At 8.30pm. Where has he been all day? How far has he walked? I could ask, but I don’t because I’m quickly tidying up all my kit. He pops off for a shower and I console myself that lights out is at 10pm so he’ll have to get himself straight by then. I’ve nodded off by the time he returned from his shower and then he went out! I’d fallen asleep by the time he got back (close to 11pm) to start unpacking the rest of his stuff and making his bed. I normally try to be as quiet as possible in the mornings- but this morning I didn’t bother!
Today was another day of steep climbs and scary downhills. I had to make a conscious effort to look up and find the beauty in what I was doing. This was a challenge at times because looking up for more than a nanosecond could result in an ankle turning incident! I made sure to stop often and take a look around. No matter how shitty (often cow shit in this case) the road immediately ahead seems if you pause and look around there is beauty to be found.
Today was a day when I had to make a choice. Would I stick to the main route or take the ‘Hospitals’ variant. I chose the main route because I struggled to find accommodation on the Hospitals route. This meant a slightly longer walk today in very warm conditions. As you moved from shade to sun it felt as though you’d just opened the oven door. Everyone I spoke to seemed to have struggled. The hills went on and on! My Albergue this evening is lovely - and up for sale - the current owner helped me secure a bed for tomorrow night. I am not going as far as I wanted as there were no beds left in that town, but at least I have somewhere to stay. I am currently trying to book somewhere for Thursday night.. the first place is full… I just need to keep trying!
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