Población de Campos

9pm

Albergue La Finca 

Today was LONG. Our longest day yet. About 20 miles. But we DID IT! It started with a nice little warm-up through Castrojeriz, which led to a looooong climb. The longest and steepest we’ve had in a while. But once again we were rewarded with incredible views at the top. 

Not a whole lot to report from the first 2/3 of the day. We walked. And we walked. And we walked some more. The sun was pretty brutal at times, but we have once again been blessed by a miraculous breeze. 

Around 2pm, when we arrived at our 2/3 point (yikes), we stopped for another break and I heard someone singing their way into town. Just as predicted, it was Dante and Jose again. It was great to catch up with them, and they only had 6km left to go. Whereas we’re crazy and we had 10. But! We made it! And we’re staying in quite possibly one of my favorite albergues so far. Only 12 beds, and all of them beautiful. They feel like private rooms, since each one has a wall or curtain separating it from everyone else. Some alone time is so nice for this introvert. 

We got settled and then hit the patio with beer and free chips. Never was there a better time for a cold beer. 

Our dinner was so wonderful after our long day: Pasta, salad, roasted potatoes, and fried eggs. A strange sounding combination, but absolutely divine. Around our table were 9 people, from three different continents. One from Germany, one from Hungary, one from France, one from Spain, three from S. Korea, and us. It’s so lovely to chat with new people and hear everyone’s stories. 

And now, after a long day (and beer and wine), it’s time for me to pass out.

My worst nightmare on this trip is bed bugs. Terrified. Horrified. I always check my mattress first thing in any place, no matter how seemingly clean. Bed bugs don’t care whether it’s clean or dirty. Those little $!?@s will take anything. So naturally, I checked my bed right away when we arrived. It has the beloved mattress covers that take a way good hiding places for bugs. No problem. 

And right when I was about to crawl into bed, imagining it would be my best night of sleep yet, a little bug crawls out of the comforter. NOPE! NOPE! Call the fire department, because I’m burning this place down. After a moment of intense panic and calling in my lifelong bug removal specialist (my dad), followed by another Google session (on all the same "How to Identify Bed Bugs" websites I’ve visited a million times in preparation for this trip), there’s pretty much no way that’s what that was. It doesn’t look like a bed bug, it hasn’t left any other symptoms of a bed bug. It was just a bug. In a bed. And there’s a whole lot of bugs around these parts, with pilgrims coming and going all day, every day, and doors always open.

So I can (kind of) breathe a sigh of relief. I still don’t like it. Not at all. And I’ll still probably feel itchy all night with a bad case of the heebie-jeebies. And I realize I probably just passed my HJs on to you... sorry about that. I know I can’t even hear about these things without feeling the creepy crawly itchies. 

(Can you tell I spend a lot of my time talking to children? How many words can I end with Y?)

I just felt it was worth sharing because it’s part of the real, every day experience of the Camino. I realize most of what I post ends with a magical punchline. But that’s usually born from a struggle. By the end of the day when I’m blogging, we’ve overcome the obstacles of the day and I’m feeling a rush of pride (and endorphins). So I want to make it clear that this crap is HARD. Sometimes really hard. And not usually because of bugs. But sometimes because of bugs. 

Tomorrow is a short day, in preparation for a 17km stretch with nooooothing but the road (no services, water, places to stop) the next day. Every day a new adventure.

UPDATE:

Horrible sleep. 

Worst yet.

Too hot. Too cold.

... but no bed bug bites. And I’ll TAKE IT.