Rocky Road (Not the Good Kind)

We definitely had a change of scenery today. We still had some fields but also forests. We hike on all sorts of roads and paths throughout the day. They range from plain dirt roads to rutted dirt roads to gravel roads to dirt roads embedded with stones to embedded stones with gravel on top to embedded stones with large stones on top — and several variations in between. The embedded stones are uneven and hard on the feet. The larger the loose stones on top the greater the degree of difficulty, especially on hills. Today we had a lot of hills and a lot of large, loose stones. I don’t have a favorite surface; whatever I’m walking on I wish it were a different option. The grass is always greener. (Unless I’m walking on grass; then I want something else.)

There were four towns in the first seven miles today, then nothing for the next seven to San Juan de Ortega.

It was fifty-seven degrees when we left this morning. It shot up into the 80s by noon, but the morning walk was glorious. We planned for coffee in the first town. As we approached, a woman showed us a flyer for a new restaurant in town, the second one we would come to. There is a tendency to stop at the first place upon entering town, so she was smart to let us know to keep going. Even smarter to add the magic words — on the trail.

The place was adorable, and the food was very different from most breakfast offerings. I had grilled chicken and cheese on toast and felt like I was having a nutritious breakfast for a change.
They also had some Camino souvenirs, so I bought a pair of socks. It was a great stop.

Town two we skipped, planning to get a croissant in town three. The croissant was marginal, but the passport stamp was magical. A guy was doing wax impressions. I’d heard about very artistic stamps to be had but hadn’t seen anyone doing any yet. He did ask for a donation, and I was happy to give him some money.

The fourth town, Villafranca, is where you’re advised to stock up on water and snacks for the seven mile mountain stretch. We did not stop at the bar on the edge of town, continuing instead to the church, which tends to be on a square full of bars. The ONE time we don’t go for the sure thing there is nothing else to be had. Passed the church, rounded a bend, and up the trail we went.

There were some inclines in the first half of the day, but the second had some serious hills that seemed to go on and on. We did luck into a food truck, and we passed a lot of pilgrims lounging in the shade along the path after. Finally we descended into San Juan. As expected, Missy was waiting on the first shady bench to be found — this one outside a bar.

We aren’t staying in San Juan. There is a bad bed crunch there, and the only thing I could find was an albergue in a town two miles ahead. We knew we weren’t done, but it was also early, so we lounged around, shared two pastries, and had two smoothies each. We agree that we could have shared the second, but we also agreed if we were going to overdo, at least it was smoothies and not the sangria.

Santovenia is a collection of buildings clustered around a curve in the road. But it has a public fountain, which kept us entertained all afternoon, either playing in it or watching the townsfolk come to fill up their jugs.

Our dinner seating was at six. I didn’t realize we had options — when we checked in and she asked if we wanted to buy dinner, I said yes; she said six; and I said okay. It was nice having gazpacho cold in a bowl instead of warm from a carton.

We expect to be out early tomorrow. Not due to the distance but because of us being in a room with six other people. Someone will wake up early to leave, so we might as well, too.Read more