I woke up at 6 am this morning so I could get an early start because I knew I had a long hard day ahead of me. The information I had said that the path would cover 28 kilometers and it would be uphill the entire day. After grabbing some toast and coffee, I headed out at 7 am. I did swing by the plaza to see if I could get any good photos in the early morning, and I got a great shot of a statue of a woman holding onto a stag with a star shining in the background. I will have to do some research to find out what the sculpture represents. I love the sculptures and art in this country.
True to the information that I had; the path started climbing immediately upon leaving the plaza area of the city. There were some great views of the city when I looked back on the climb out of town. The path soon entered the woods, and the morning was great for walking. A few hours later I met Charlene, Alfonso and their family friend from San Diego, California. We walked together for a couple of hours and had a great time chatting. Charlene is writing about her Camino and had a few questions that she likes to ask other pilgrims she meets. I think it was the first time I had ever been interviewed. I told her that I was also writing in my blog every day and that she would be in it. She told me that she worked in the funeral industry but not as a mortician. Alfonso was previously in the Navy as a Corpsman and was attached to the Marines as a medic, so we enjoyed reminiscing about life in the Marine Corps. Their companion had recently retired after forty years as a microbiologist. The time and kilometers went by quickly in their company.
I passed a couple of beautiful little churches today. I always love to go inside of them, but they were locked. I did manage to get a shot of the inside of one of them through an iron gate. I stopped for lunch at a cool little place that was full of art. There I met the Irish sisters Mary and Jane again. We all had lunch together along with a new acquaintance named Shelley. The Irish girls are always a hoot to hang out with. As always, the time passed too quickly, and we had to get back on the trail again. We all had lots of kilometers to cover today.
I also saw Aeran and John from Pittsburg on the trail today at a rest area alongside of a small man-made reservoir. My ankle was giving me some problems, so I swallowed a couple of Ibuprofen and stretched out on a concrete bench to elevate my foot for a bit. They came walking up not long after i stretched out. John has a bad knee, and it was giving him some problems also. After a bit, they moved on and I was right behind them. It was a hard day's walk and I made it to Bruma at 5 pm. There is not much in that tiny little town. The place that I was staying at was off the trail and my instructions were to call when I got to Bruma and someone would pick me up. I called and about 30 minutes later my ride showed up. The driver told me that the distance that I had walked was actually 34 kilometers instead of 28. I told him it felt like 34 kilometers.
He dropped me off at a beautiful little place. The building was all stone and rustic wood, and the hosts were so nice. It was a nice surprise to find that Mary and Jane were also staying there. On long trails you quickly end up with a "trail family" made up of people that you meet and get to know along the way. Mary is a financial advisor in Boston where she lives with her husband and Jane works in the lab of a hospital in Ireland. Those two always bring a smile to my face when I see them along the way. Our hosts cooked us a great meal that we ate sitting out on a covered veranda overlooking a little waterfall far below. The food was great, and the company was charming. It was a great end to a long day.
That wraps up a long but fun day. Here is the link to todays photos in video format on YouTube:
Good night and Buen Camino one and all!
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