Climb Every Mountain

As I left the albergue this morning, the sky has such beautiful coloring and the moon was still in the sky. As I walked through town, I was so captivated by the beauty. Sometimes in the way, when I have to calculate each step, I have to specifically remember to stop and look up from my feet. The easy walk through town allowed me to admire the scenery for a good ten minutes.

Last night I had messaged my Camino friend from Sweden, who is now days ahead. She said I'd have a climb in the morning. Part of town gently went up and down, but I thought "surely this wasn't worth mentioning." Then I got out of town and saw this looming before me...

Yep. Every mountain I see, there's a chance I'll be climbing it. As my eye followed the trail up, up, up, I prepared for the ascent. A marker at the foot told me how high I'd be climbing, but that did me no good. I'm not a great judge of distance in miles, so telling me meters is useless.

After about 10k, I got to a rest area in a town. As I unloaded my pack, my Camino friend from Columbus walked out. I quickly finished my granola bar and we were back on our way. The rest of the day was a decent walk. My pack had felt relatively light when I started out this morning, but a Camino gremlin must have snuck some rocks in at the lunch break because the weight definitely was pulling down more as we neared the stopping point.

We entered town around 3:30 and immediately saw the German father and daughter friends and then the group of four Germans who always make me feel like a rock star when they shout my name when they see me.

Before choosing a place to stay, I bought soap since I lost mine and have been getting by the last days with borrowing. I just realized today why I have been getting funny look from albergue owners when I ask if any pilgrims have left soap (some places have a pile of "leave behinds"). As I have been pantomiming washing my arms, I have been saying the Spanish word for "soup." There now may be Spaniards who think Americans like to bathe in soup. You're welcome, America.