I am usually out of the albergues fast, walking in the dark and I am always surprised to find many pilgrims at my final destination. Many of them walk shorter distances and like to get to their next destination by 1:00 pm at the latest, while I usually go a bit over the marked stages to avoid high numbers of people.

Once you arrive and are assigned a bed, you move quickly to have your shower; hot or cold water it does not matter. It is always a wonderful thing to have a shower. You feel you are born again. Then you have to move quickly to wash your clothes and find a space in the clothe’s line. I never thought of bringing cloths pins and boy! you certainly need them. You need to secure your clothes from other people who want to use the lines and from flying with the strong winds of the Rioja Valley and even more stronger winds in the Meseta. Also, the Albergues never seem to have enough clothes lines, so you have to become ingenious to find a place for your cloths to dry.

Once that has been taken care of, you can get some time to rest, or go for a stroll in the usually charming towns which will be totally deserted from local people except for the attendants at the albergue or bar/cafeteria. Sometimes there’s a little store to buy some food for the following day.

There are private and municipal albergues. The municipal ones are usually larger and more restrictive. Sometimes they only ask for a donation but they could also charge up to 10 euros. private ones charge between 5-10 euros. They could be awesome or they could not be. You really never know.

I was told of one albergue that was like the Japanese beds, where you slide your bed and get tucked-in in your little space, but apparently it was roomy enough to be comfortable. I had been lucky enough to get into some that were really especial, like the one in Villafranca which was an old Monastery converted a four star hotel with an Albergue next to it. The owner had done the walk and he wanted to give back to El Camino. That was real luxurious living for a pilgrim. I have also stayed in some rough ones. People make do. refuges open at 12:00 and lights go off at 10:00pm a hand light is always handy.

Spanish people take between 1-5 to have lunch and their siesta. Businesses, all businesses, are closed from 2 to 4 pm but people usually are late to open again.

Not seeing people in the streets is a phenomenon that only happens in the small towns. Where are the people? Well they may be inside their homes because it is too hot to be outside, and at night, well they may also be inside because it is also hot or too cold. But it is difficult to see any people on the towns. Sometimes as you go through a village you can hear the laughter of kids playing at school, and the sound is incredibly reassuring.

Larger cities like Pamplona and Burgos also close totally between 2 and 4, but they become lively and social after that until perhaps 11:00 pm with family and friends gathering and strolling throughout. Very nice!

Most Albergues offer kitchen facilities and you could cook your own meals. This works well if you plan to cook for more than one person and I have done it twice when I am moving with a group, otherwise there are restaurants that offer the pilgrims menu which consists of a choice of three courses: soup or salad, main course, and dessert. The general complain is that there are not enough vegetables to eat along The Way, so I always try to choose a stew of some kind and imagine that the sauce was complemented with some veggies. The Bed and the pilgrims menu usually will be between 13-18 euros.

I usually go to sleep in the same cloths I will be traveling next day. Other people strip off totally. I am sure most people don’t care one way or another.

It is a good idea to look at your itinerary for the following day and make sure you dress appropriately and bring with you food and water accordingly. Tomorrow, for example, I will walk 20 kilometers but there’s nothing to stop or rest for the first 12 km!

In this country, where every single province wants to separate, the news of the referendum in Scotland was followed incredibly closed.

Until next time.