Today was the longest walking day of our Camino pilgrimage. We walked over 16 miles. Now it is 6:30 PM and I am lying in my hotel bedroom right now with my feet up. I just massaged them with something called Green Goo Foot Care Salve, which is made of calendula, yarrow and comfrey. It feels great on my feet. I’m tired and my feet are aching, but I feel very satisfied that I walked the whole way. We do have a van that meets us at several points during the day so people can catch a ride to the hotel or the next stop if they want to. I had a spare pair of shoes in the van and changed socks and shoes midway through the day. But I walked the whole thing!
A group of us started before dawn at 6:45 in the morning in a light drizzle. We walked all day with four stops for food or coffee or fresh orange juice or whatever it is we wanted or needed to refresh us. At our multiple rest stops, people pulled out their art books or journals, got stamps for their pilgrim passports, took off their shoes to air out their feet, and ordered a little or a lot to eat, depending on their appetite. Then after a half hour or an hour, we would start out again on the next leg of the day’s journey. There was a light drizzle for much of the day, then the sun came out in the afternoon. I actually really enjoyed the weather, my poncho coming on and off as the hours ticked by.
When we arrived at our hotel, we all enjoyed a celebratory glass of wine and some delicious local cheese and Quince jam that Brenda bought for us today as a treat. Now I am showered and in clean clothes and we will be going to dinner in 45 minutes. I don’t have time or energy for much of a blog post today, but I will share some pictures from the day and the captions will tell you more.


During the first part of the day, there were so many pilgrims on the road that it felt like we were in a river. I loved all the varieties of rain gear I saw today.
Here are all the people streaming by at one of our stops.



I don’t drink coffee and so I have fallen in love with the incredible fresh orange juice that is available almost everywhere we stop. And I really love this machine that makes it.






