Villamayor de Monjardín → Torres del Río
Distance: 12.78 miles / 20.5km
Elevation: +692ft, -689ft
I woke up at 6:15am today and got ready for the day. It’s crazy that I feel LAZY waking up at 6:15am because everyone but one person in my room was already up and gone for the day! I got going around 6:45am, but I got turned around getting out of town, which probably added an extra quarter mile or so to my total mileage for the day. Today was a shorter day so it wasn’t an issue.
There were no stops for the first 7.5 miles or so today since it was a while to the next town. It was cool this morning and I walked while listening to a true crime podcast. It was a beautiful walk through the countryside and it was an incredibly pleasant and enjoyable first stretch. Finally, I made it to the next town, Los Arcos, where I stopped at a cafe for breakfast and a drink.
I also ran into many familiar faces and people who stayed in the same hostel as me last night since everyone was taking a break after the first stretch. I had a tortilla (Spanish omelette) and a glass of orange juice. After I ate, I ran into a friend (Mark from New York) and we went grocery shopping to get lunch for today and then walked together.
After taking a break at the cafe, the sun had picked up considerably and it became quite hot out, about 85°F. Thankfully, today’s route was short and relatively flat compared to other days so it wasn’t too bad of a walk. It was pretty much all in the sun though with minimal shade so sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses were a must.
It’s nice to walk with someone and have someone to talk to, especially when you’re hot or tired, because talking to someone makes the time go by faster and is a good distraction for when the miles are getting tough. Before too long, we made it to Sansol, the town before where I was stopping for the day. In Sansol, Mark and I stopped to refill water. While we were at the water fountain, we saw a gray cat that wandered toward us. We could tell it was a mom that was feeding kittens still and she looked so skinny and hungry.
Earlier at the grocery store, I bought a package of Iberian ham so I took it out and gave her some. Mark also gave her some smoked salmon that he bought earlier today. She was definitely scared around people and didn’t want to come too close but ate all the food we gave it and was still looking for more. I felt so bad for the poor kitty - I love the amount of cats I’ve been seeing so far on the trip but it breaks my heart how skinny some of them are. It makes me realize our two fat cats, Phoebe and Pippin, truly don’t realize how good they have it and how ungrateful they are.
Finally, we said goodbye to the cat and continued another half mile to Torres del Río where I was spending the night. I got to the hostel around 1pm and checked in. I was sleeping in a room with about 10-12 bunk beds, so quite a large room but I was the only one in there for some time and I was wondering if anyone else was going to come. I stretched for a while and enjoyed spending time unwinding from the day.
Eventually, I got tired of sitting in the big room by myself and went to the bar/restaurant attached to the hostel and got a radler (beer with lemonade) and sat on the patio. I was feeling a bit sad and lonely and wasn’t sure why. It can be tough getting done with walking around noon and you’re not really sure what to do for the rest of the day, especially if there’s no one else really around. Being in a very small town with little going on can feel lonely and isolating. I called Tovin and we talked on the phone for a bit, and then I went for a walk around town. I ran into some more cats but they weren’t interested in me.
I went back to the hostel where I ran into some familiar faces and I was glad to find out I wasn’t the only one in that big room. There were two nice Taiwanese ladies who I've met a few times - they’re so cute, they just call me 芝加哥 which is Chicago in Chinese and earlier, one of them wanted me to help her talk to the guy who runs the hostel to translate. I took a shower and did laundry and then spent some time journaling.
Dinner was at 7pm and I sat with a group of pilgrims, some of whom I had met before and some I hadn’t. It was nice to share a meal with everyone and chat about our lives, about the Camino, and about the meal. This restaurant we had dinner at also offered a pilgrim menu but they had many different options so my first course was a salad, then steak and fries, and I had a slice of berry cake for dinner. It was all very delicious.
After dinner, I gathered my laundry and got ready for bed, then started to pack some of my things up, texted Tovin, and finished journaling, before going to sleep around 9:30pm.
