28.7 km – 17.8 miles

6:15am to 1:45pm walking time

270 meters – 885 feet elevation gain

Today was another really hard day mentally. While I had a good evening last night at the pilgrims meal at the albergue (eating some fantastic chicken paella), I still find this to walk to be incredibly lonely. I do know lots of pilgrims now and I try to socialize with them when I can, but walking day after day alone is getting really hard to enjoy.

You add feeling sluggish, to sweating profusely, to walking on hard rocks so your feet feel like they’re on fire, to having every bug in Spain repeatedly flying into your face. Well, let’s just say that doing 18 miles of that alone gets really hard.

I had two breakdown moments today. One in the middle of farm fields where I could see no one in front of me or behind me. The other was when I was trying to check into my albergue and the guy at the front desk ignored me. I guess he wasn’t the employee to check me in, but I didn’t know that at the time. When the check in person arrived he told me I looked tired. I nearly started to cry in front of him. I just said it had been a hard day and I’d feel better after a shower.

Luckily the nice couple from Florida joined me for lunch so I got some of the socializing I’ve been needing more of.

I know it’s hard to compare this to my first Camino when my new friend Eva was with me every step of the way. Even if she and I didn’t always talk, it was really nice to have someone there, so I never had to feel alone.

Tomorrow will be a new day.

Just after it got light enough to be able to see, I approached the very cool ruins of an old convent. It felt like something out of Lord of the Rings. Apparently there’s an albergue there – but nothing else. Definitely a great place to take in for a few minutes on the way.

Today was another day where stops were minimal. I’m noticing that to be a trend – though it’s not what I remember from the first time I walked this route. I don’t know if it’s that it’s a shoulder season or if Covid closed many places down (probably a combination of both), but there are less options for first or second breakfast and lunch – along with less access to bathrooms.

Today has the biggest hill of the Meseta. It’s one that’s actually more daunting to look at for the 20+ minutes as you walk toward it. And it’s basically go up, walk on flat and then go back down a steep hill. It would actually probably be easier to walk around this hill, but the Camino tends to find the hills anywhere it can.

Tomorrow will be a slightly shorter walk ahead the temperatures look to be a bit cooler so that should be good.