Agés

A windy, winding trail with a moderate amount of elevation through a pine forest brought us to the town Agés. Along the way, we stopped in a Villafranca Montes de Orca, which was once a Roman city, and had second breakfast at the Hospital de la Reina, which hosted up to 18,000 pilgrims per year in the 17th century. There, we enjoyed the company of a little, local tabby cat. It was also fun to run into Jennifer, a woman from Korea we originally met a few days ago in a different town.

Afterwards, we walked at about the same pace as a small group from the southwest of England whom we had met and chatted with the day before. Their names are Tim and Bob and they are walking with their wives, their last stop is Burgos. Given that one is an MD and the other a priest, they're a surprisingly fun bunch, and theyparticularly enjoy discussing the shit show that is the current state of American politics. We happened to stay at the same albergue yesterday evening and they gave us some tips for the castle tour in England we're planning to tack on to the last leg of our trip.

There was some competition for beds at Agés, and that, paired with the cold, wet weather, provided Tom and I motivation to move quickly. From apparently nowhere (or perhaps it came from the second chocolate croissant this morning) I outpaced Tom, even finding the energy to jog for a bit. A one point Tom said, "OK, I know you have a lot of energy, but no more jogging." We made great time and completed the 14.5 miles an hour or so more quickly than the last time we this distance.

We arrived in time to get bunk beds, duct tape reinforcing the top bed; the total cost for a bed, dinner and breakfast for one of us is $22.Read more