The villages are far and few between on this route and so I’m often finding myself down a pint or two of coffee. I could have stopped for my cafe con leche as soon as I started this morning but I espied 3 pilgrims ahead of me and my competitive spirit didn’t want to lose sight of them.  Not finding any bars or stores along the way means I have to plan ahead and bring enough food and water with me, usually an apple, a cello-wrapped danish or cake, and if the walk is greater than 5 hours I’ll plan on bread & cheese or ham. I stop every 2 hours or so whenever I find a comfy rock and eat a bit; more so to ensure I actually take a break rather than to consume calories.  Walking any more than 2 hours straight and my feet & legs get cranky and remain so the rest of the day. (those I hike with in the desert know I can eat on the run no problem!)

almost there!  😉

Albergue is in a restored monastery, beside a Zurbaran museum

Today I arrived at the albergue at 12:30pm and fell upon my sandwich like a shipwrecked sailor before even thinking about a shower or doing laundry.  I chatted with Mary over lunch (a Swiss lady who started in Malaga and who’s easily caught up on my one stage advantage). She mentioned that yesterday she was woken by pilgrims leaving her albergue at 5:30am, only to pass them later on in the morning as they spent 1 hour lost in the forest in the dark!  Anyway, everyone was already here and cleaned up and I was just able to catch up with 3 pilgrims on their way to a tiny tienda (corner store) that on Sundays afternoons only sold fresh hot bread and roasted chicken dinners to go.  A real treat for tonight!

a very modern restoration – lovely large room with only 4 beds!

Henry digging into his roast chicken!!