We were in hill country after leaving ponferrada and arriving in villafranca del bierzo. Really nice albergue for 14 euro. Town is also quite nice with a church ( some say) was founded by saint Francis himself. I always laugh when I hear that: some say. Some say the bones of saint james are buried in Santiago. Some say Ralph is a handsome devil.

We joked over a beer just now that our legs are getting slightly more tired after the walk as the days go by. We think it’s because we are not resting. Something to think about but we are good.

That said even the one in our group with the Achilles tendonitis is improving. But our poor Ottawa friend has destroyed his feet with blisters. He walks once in a while then takes a day off. Very hard to watch. He’s fit and a runner and was prepared but his feet simply rebelled.

Today we passed the 600km mark and have less than 200km to go. It’s been and still is quite a journey. It’s long enough, this trip, that walking is a lifestyle. It’s a bit of a paradigm shift in that we have all lived differently for many weeks. Will see how that change, changes, moving forward.

The Camino walk is a very different experience. So many people trying so hard to just get it done and enjoy themselves a little in the doing. So many different types of people all with a common goal.