Day 8: Estella a Los Arcos

It’s an odd thing, staying in albergues. It kind of feels like summer camp, except the “campers” are 20-70 year olds who all speak different languages and may never meet again. Tonight’s roommates are a young Romanian medical student, a mid-20s French guy who wants to study Japanese cooking, and a probably late-20s American teacher. Next door is a group of South Koreans, one of whom snores quite loudly. That’s another common occurrence- when you’ve got adults sleeping in the same space, there’s always someone snoring. Thankfully, I can sleep through noise pretty well and have some good ear plugs. Showers also feel like camp- there’s a tiny shower cubicle with no guarantee of hot water. Sometimes there’s a private small space next to it to get dressed in, but you have to try to keep your clean clothes dry while changing.

The last couple of days I’ve been catching up on the Bible plan I’m following this year, The Bible Recap. As I walk everyday and listen to Genesis, Numbers, Leviticus, and Ruth, I think of how God showed his never ending faithfulness. And I think that maybe this time isn’t so much for me to have immediate divine wisdom but to grow my faith more. The walk is early (though I’m close to 20% done!), I still have a long way to go and plenty of time to understand more.

A couple highlights from the day: I went to the wine fountain, which is put on by a local bodega. It was a bit early for wine, so I didn’t have more than a sip. I saw some beautiful landscapes today, met some guys from the Canary Islands who were impressed by me carrying my pack and doing it solo (and who said to let them know if I’m ever on their island), and had a nice dinner with the current roommates.Read more