I’m sitting on the balcony of what seems like a five-star hotel after a creepy night last night in a basement albergue. It’s not a five-star hotel, but the shower here made me feel like a million bucks. I even got to use a full size towel! Heck, I might even take another shower tonight…just because I can! 

I told myself that I could stay in a hotel once a week so I could sleep in a comfortable bed and feel like a normal person. Not that I haven’t stayed in some comfortable albergues, but after last night, I deserved a good night’s rest in my own room. 

Today has been a great day! We started off at 6:30 this morning and took the Camino detour through the Bodega winery. On the walk up to its famous fountain a fox stopped in the road to check us out, then went on his way. Once we arrived at the fountain we quickly emptied our water bottles. At this fountain you have a choice between water or wine. Unfortunately there were only a few drops of wine left. So we had to opt for water. It was before 7am after all. 

On the road to the next villages we headed. We wondered all day if we’d see any friends from our first night. Or our Austrian friend that we keep meeting along the way. Instead of seeing them we saw some beautiful scenery.

We stopped in Los Arcos where many pilgrims would be staying for the night and saw a few familiar faces. Then it was off to the final destination of Torres del Rio. 

The scenery continues to be amazing. Around each hill you see another beautiful sight. One section reminded me of a cross between the Palouse region and southern Idaho. The mountains in the distance today were stunning. There seems to be no end of poppies, thistles, cute villages and interesting bugs along the way.

I’ll be doing the pilgrims dinner tonight where I’ve already decided on the veal steak. Yum! Tomorrow, for the first time in the Camino I will “sleep in” until 6:30! It’s only a short 21km (13 mile) walk tomorrow so that will make it the shortest day yet!