Friday, July 26: Calzadilla de la Cuez to Terradillos de Los Templarios

Walking only 9.5km is called a rest day. 

I got up at my regular walking time but Anne-Julie "convinced" me to go back to sleep. She was cold so we took all the extra pillows from the empty beds and bundled her up under them. And we both went back to sleep. 

I woke up at 7:45, sheer luxury! 

Three days ago I picked up a lost sock on the camino. I clipped it to the outside of my pack to see if anyone would recognize it. I asked Anne-Julie if it was hers. And wouldn't you know it was! She was so excited. She had brought only two pair and now she was down to three socks. She was very glad to get the fourth one back. The camino provides and takes care of us. It is really amazing. 

Sunflowers always make me smile. 

Walking along boring nothing stretches of interstate do not!

The albergue I stayed at tonight, Albergue Jacques de Molay, is one of the oldest private albergues on the camino, a whopping 20 years old. It was really nice but the people were not very warm. I don't like when albergues don't have a kitchen so that you have to eat at their restaurant and they also have the only store in town. It is like a little monopoly. €8 for a bed, €10 for dinner and €4 for food for the next day's breakfast and lunch. That is expensive for the camino. 

I spent the afternoon chatting with Lilian and Cora. 

I ate dinner with Lilian, Cora and three Italians. The Italian ladies were saying how they have lost three kilograms so far on the camino. One lady went onto say how this is not a good thing because she likes to be "rotunda". She probably weighed 120-130lbs-ish so she is not a big lady. But what American would ever complain about loosing ten pounds. Too funny!

 Dinner was one of the worst pilgrim meals yet. The first course was a choice of garlic soup or cold green beans with potatoes and carrots. The garlic soup was hardly eatable and far inferior to the versions served the past two nights. The main course was a choice of fish and salad  or meatballs and rice. The meatballs and rice was just ok. The rice was a little underdone and the meatballs were from the freezer section. Dessert was vanilla pudding. It was good but its really hard to mess up vanilla pudding. 

After dinner I "fixed" the down Internet by unplugging and plugging back in the wireless router. The ladies from Holland have never heard of this before and were stunned with my technical skills.