The past 2 days have been pretty dreary. It hasn’t been above 45 degrees, and has been very windy and rainy! Not really downpouring, but enough to get you wet and cold. Thank goodness it’s level ground so I can just set a pace and put my head down and go. Even so, when I ask myself if I’d rather be home, at work, (forgive me, OCE!!), the answer is still no! Haven’t taken many photos because it takes 10 minutes to get my rain gear off to get the ipod out. But here are a few:
Walking along the Canal de Castilla with a beautiful mother/daughter team from Germany
Not the Panama Canal, but still an impressive set of locks that could raise/lower 14.2 meters.
These were either gypsies, or a family returning East from Santiago. They didn’t stop to chat. I was jealous of their furry donkeys.

I walked for 8 hours yesterday, 35 kilometers which is the longest day I’ve had yet. I got to town and went to the albergue that my friends were staying at, and it was full! (I’m trying not to get too upset about all of the people who catch a bus/taxi/ship their bags ahead and get a bed because they get there early and I don’t after walking all day. I only saw 7 other pilgrims walking yesterday and all 160 beds in town were full.) Then I went to another albergue that had a big sign on the door ‘no pilgrims.’ I cried. So tired and cold and feeling so alone. But only a couple of tears and then I followed a friendly bicycle pilgrim to a third albergue which turned out to have nicer beds anyway! I had dinner with my two Aussie friends from Pamplona (you may remember, the 65 year old firecrackers) and a woman from Malaysia. We talked about milk prices, cattle breeds, and breastfeeding activism. It turned out to be a very fulfilling evening and I had a great rest. Was still rather tired this morning though! And didn’t want to go out in the rain! I did 26 k today, because the place at 23 k had only one bathroom for 40 people. And it turns out my friends James and Mark, who I hadn’t seen in a few days, were here too. It’s always nice to see familiar faces. The only other person I have lost track of is Maggie/Margarita/Mariposa from my first few days out of Pamplona. Maggie where are you??!

Good dinner company

In good news, the town I’m in tonight is considered to be the halfway point from St. Jean, where most people start. According to the daily log I’ve kept, I’ve walked a total (including what I managed to walk in France) of 419 k. One day there were markers every kilometer and I counted about 1,350 steps per k, which means I’ve taken about 561,000 steps so far! Only 558,900 to go!

“Keep going. There’s plenty more”