Last night we were sardined in a room with about 50 people with a co-ed bathroom (2 toilets). Talk about cozy. The bunkbeds had only a few feet between the top and bottom so i kept getting my hair snagged in the springs every time I sat up. Some middle-aged ladies from France coughed, snorted, farted, and giggled for a good part of the night while the usual suspects snored with abandon. Although I would never do so, a part of me wants to say, REALLY?! A pack of dogs also howled in the night for quite a while. This is not a cake walk, although it is easier than say, living in Nepal.
Ah, the breakfasts...baguette slices with butter and marmalade. That and coffee. Not good hiking food for me. I need protein, fruits, some fats, and some whole grains. In this region there seem to be no kitchens in the albergues so we have to buy too many unhealthy meals. We found some giant flat green beans later on and ate a big bag of them raw.
The weather has shifted quite drastically from frigid windy conditions to very warm sunny days. Without shade, the sun can be very oppressive on these long, boring senda sections (gravel paths next to minor highways). The morning light along with the explosively happy twittering birds makes that my favorite time of day.
So we and maybe a hundred pilgrims arrive in a town each afternoon, spreading out to several albergues, then later on we see each other all over town. It reminds me of that feeling you get when you run into ice people all over New Zealand - a sense of family but also a strangeness that you are in an unknown town but familiar people are around every corner.
Oh man, splurge tonight! A private room with a tub! We fell for one of those flyers promising all sorts of amazing things (10 euro rooms, laundry done for free, breakfast served at 6, etc!). None of it turned out to be true but we are in a really nice room with wifi and the lady owner brought us a bottle of wine from the bar downstairs to the room for 5 euros. And it is quiet. Exquisite.
Still having some mild tendinitis issues on top of my feet but it is manageable.
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