Today was a better day.
We left the grumpy little town called Obanos as early as we could. We quickly arrived in Puente la Reina and had breakfast. While eating, we saw Jeff and Lynette pass our cafe. Not long after, we caught up with them while they were taking pictures with 3 Spanish ladies. When they saw us approaching, Lynette yelled, “hey it’s Canada!” Nice to be recognized.
A couple hours down the road, we came across a “vending” stop for pilgrims. It’s basically a garage that they have transformed into a room with a table and chairs and vending machines. We hung out there for a full hour playing on our gadgets! This was our only downfall for the day. Put us behind and left us waking in the hot sun. We were slow today.
Today was hot. Less shade than we are used to. Still some wind, but not as much. We have also discovered, that if the hills you are climbing are not part of a mountain, they don’t bother marking it on the papers that they give you at the pilgrim office. What looks like a flat day – won’t be. There are hills. Long, hard hills. I hate hills.
Today I did not have a tantrum. I wanted to a few times, but I’m getting better at holding it in. Besides, when I throw my walking sticks into the bush, it’s a lot of work to get them back.
The villages are so beautiful. Watching them grow closer and closer while you walk towards them is such a joy. So many of the village views we see could be straight out of a postcard.
The villages we went through today love pilgrims. So nice to feel welcome again. Love it when the kids in the villages yell, “BUEN CAMINO!” To us 🙂 a school we passed today had these outside…
About an hour before we arrived in Villatuerta, we stopped for a late lunch. This was the best meal we have had since we started. They actually let us choose what we wanted from the menu! Didn’t make us eat the pilgrim meal. What a treat! I had vegetarian lasagna 🙂 yum!
When we left the restaurant, we left with ice cream. Karis had developed a blister on her right heel and had been walking in her flip flops for about 4km. Her feet needed to dry out from all the sweat so we could tape it more effectively.
We got about 2 minutes down the road and noticed a dog in a yard ahead on the right. Such a cute dog. He was SO excited to see us! He ran back and forth up and down the fence line not barking at all. Just running. Karis (who has never ending energy) decided to run back and forth with him. We all laughed – including the two Spanish children across the street who were playing in their sprinkler. All of a sudden, Karis’ toe caught the edge of a lamp post and she FLEW! Ice cream one way, her the other. Before she even hit the ground she bellowed out, “I’M DEAD!!!” (What the heck?!??! Lol) she hit hard and scratched her elbow, hands, toes and mostly her left knee. It looked terrible and started pouring blood instantly. Thankfully, the first aid kit came in handy! As we patched her up in the GLARING heat, the children’s mom yelled to us in Spanish. Not understanding, one of the young girls translated, “my mom says that if you need help, you can tell us.”. So nice that they were willing to help the stinky pilgrims 🙂
Karis was able to limp a few extra kilometres to Villatuerta and we are so thankful that she could. This is THE NICEST albergue we have come across. Almost like a resort!!
Washing machines!! Including DETERGENT! Washrooms with a hair dryer and HAIRSPRAY! A pool to soak sore feet in! Hammocks to lay in! A FREE massage chair!
Heaven!
We washed all of our clothing, met some new people, and are in a room with only one other person! A young boy from Quebec! Whoo hoo!
This has been a good day! (Minus Karis’ wipe out!!)