Thursday, October 19, 2023 – It started out pretty wet, but ended up a beautiful day. I finally got to the countryside and got to experience some space on the forest paths and farm trails. There were also some churches and shrines along the way. Also, today the hills and topography started. It felt good to challenge my legs again. The worked fine. Unfortunately, my shoes did not.
These were the same shoes Jesus sold me last year on the Camino Frances. They still got fine, but are no longer waterproof. The Goretex must not be working anymore, or there is a failure in a seam. When I’m hiking, I can feel the hydraulic forces sucking and relaxing against my feet. I took a break every couple hours to de-prune my feet and squeegee my socks. It wasn’t a great solution, but definitely helped. I made it to this wonderful Albergue that’s in a 400 year old building. We were able to order in food and they have $5 bottles of good wine!
My fellow pilgrims here are also pretty cool. There are folks from Switzerland, Portugal, Scotland, Canada, Ukraine, and others. The conversation was lively and all in English! Here’s some cool pictures:
