I’m writing this from the terrace of the albergue and there’s a thunderstorm off in the distance. So I may have to head inside soon. 

Even with little sleep last night (insomnia, not loud snorers), the first part of today was perfect. A beautiful walk through rolling farm fields, looking ahead at the mountain we would be crossing. 

The point where we’d cross the top was something I’ve been looking forward to as it’s the location of the Monument of the Pilgrims. If you’ve watched the movie The Way, you would have seen this in one of the scenes. It’s a beautiful monument with amazing views. And a geocache!

While the scenery was still beautiful, the steep downhill caused my bad knee to start aching. Nothing unbearable, just annoying. Then the heat settled in, so my lack of sleep kicked in. One foot in front of the other as my dad’s advice recommends.

The villages we walked through were all cute and quiet. Once we arrived at Puenta la Reina, we planned to get beds at the albergue at the end of town. Though it was advertised as 200 meters away, it was more like a kilometer away, up a steep hill. Frustrated with how far away it was from civilization, we went back and checked in to another albergue in the heart of the city. Here is the view from the 8 person room…

After a shower I tried a local bar/cafe for lunch where I got one of the best frozen pizzas ever. Turns out I could have saved 3.50 euro and picked that same pizza up at the local super mercado. When you’re  tired and hungry, you’re not too picky.  

Still blister free and enjoying this amazing adventure. It’s funny, every town we go to, we seem to already know half the people there. Heck, those people probably slept in the same room as us the night before! So no place really feels like I’m in a foreign country, even though it looks different from home.