Spontaneous Swim? Taxi, and Marianne!

We arrived late in the day to the town that ended this stage traditionally, but was not our final stop. We still had 3-4 more miles left to go. I was spent and told my brothers I was ready to hand in the towel and take a taxi.

On the way into the town was a river where many pilgrims decide to join the locals and go swimming. The water is freezing but on a hot day like today can be refreshing. We thought about it but moved on into town.

We ran into our Italian friends, Amerigo and Lisa again and they both recommended going swimming. I was bound to take the taxi. Jim and Steven were open to the idea but David quietly resisted. I told him if I can have a rest I could push through the final miles.

We all were game for going into the river. Of course none of us planned to do this so we went in with our various options of shorts, hiking pants, and even underwear. It was absolutely refreshing, and COLD! 🥶 We sat at a cafe close by after and had a few drinks and pizza before Jim and Steven decided to head to the hotel by taxi. It turned out great for them and it gave David and I a lot of good time to talk about my work and ministry.

It took us some time to get ourselves together at the hotel but David and I were greeted with the best welcome of all- from my friend Marianne! Marianne is joining the trip a bit early to get a few more days in on the Camino. It was so good to see another person who is so close to me and my family. The circle is widening on the Camino. While still incredibly hot out we all got a late dinner and called it a night.Les mer