Top 5 albergue

I left Samos after breakfast, around 8. I enjoyed the countryside walk with my Canadian friend. She is a director, so we alternated projects. First, I interviewed her for my doc, then she interviewed me for her podcast. The walk was really nice, through rolling hills with rock walls that remind me of Ireland. We had to stop filming when we came across a unicorn. OK, it was just a white horse, but in the forest it really seemed like a magical unicorn.

Definitely a unicorn, right?

We caught up with two other pilgrims she knew, so we walked the rest of the way with them. After an enormous lunch in Sarria, we set off again. My feet were really screaming at me but I stumbled on.

We soon came across the 100k marker. This is where pilgrims who want a certificate need to walk from. About 5k from our stop for the day, we took a chocolate break. Then we arrived at one of the cutest albergues I have been in. Only a room for 6, no bunk beds, lights that don't automatically go off, a shower that doesn't have a ten second water burst button... basically heaven.

A pilgrim from Denmark prepared a basin for me to soak my feet and another pilgrim from the UK who has walked the Camino 4 times with no blisters gave me a pair of his socks. Generosity on the Camino is astounding. Everyone says "the Camino provides" which I edit in my head to "God provides." It's not a big hand reaching down from heaven; it is each of us seeing a need in the other and doing what we can to help.

We had a nice dinner swapping vacation horror stories and then retired to the fireplace room. Yes, the fireplace room.  Indeed we had found one of the top 5 albergues on the trip.