Day 12 - An unexpected day in Mérida

Well!!!! Last night….
When the bus finally came it didn’t stop in the town I wanted (Torremejia) - where the young person had called ahead for me and organised a €10 bed. It stopped at the town before - Almendralejo - which had relatively expensive accommodation and was apparently all booked out according to Booking.com….. and then went straight to Mérida.
Well who am I to argue with God’s plan - so off to Mérida I went.
Arrived at 7.00 pm only to discover the Albergue closed till tomorrow (family problems) and Mérida completely booked out. Stunned is one way to describe how that felt - at 8 pm.
Today I saw there was some sort of big running event on so between that and regular weekend tourists the place was full.
Now I need to add that the other day I saw a Camino post from a man who couldn’t find any accommodation on the last stages of Camino Frances and had to take a bus to Santiago (for a bed) and then take a bus back the next morning to complete the walk so he could get his Compostela. Can I admit to judgmental thoughts about this man. So of course I end up in a similar situation - another lesson in humility.
After checking a number of hostels on Booking.com I think I got the last bed in Mérida. Problem solved - except it was €80. By that time is was after 8 pm and I had started my search for a bed at 2.30 pm - so I booked two nights (night two a mere €35). I could have tried the Albergue for night two but that just felt too hard.
I was obviously supposed to see Mérida (sooner than expected) and by the time I walked to my accomodation i was exhausted. Even at the end I needed the help of two young boys happy practice their English as they showed me I only had to go around the corner to find the entrance to Hostel Milagro.
My learning from all this -
1. Plan ahead at least for the next day and ask your host to call ahead for you to confirm Albergues are open.
2. Be extra careful on weekends in big towns that attract tourists and might also have something on.

PS - Woke in the morning with a number of ‘should haves’ and ‘what if’s’ going on - but after listening to some sacred mantras and texts (SGG) it all all fell away and only gentle cohesion remained.Read more