So many things weren’t reported yesterday. Now, don’t start looking for the “escape” button. I’m not going to drag you through yesterday again. I don’t want to be dragged through yesterday again.

There is one thing I’d like to mention however. I was introduced to compression socks more than 10 years ago and like many people struggled to get them on….so I never bothered.

Since that date Carol had given me a pair and I wore them on a couple of long flights. At the last minute I rolled around on the floor managing to get these on and when I got to Santiago rolled around on the floor again to get them off.

No swelling whatsoever. Best present….great advice.

I checked into my little Hostal just before 4 and was completely satisfied with the cleanliness and location of this lower end hotel. I have a private room with an en suite bathroom. Tons of storage, non I will take advantage of, and a small floor standing electric oil heater. I doubted the heater would change the temperature in this room by more than a degree over night so I have come up with a solution I will use if needed. I have two large plush towels and I put one folded over the top and let it heat up. I’ll the remove the heated towel and put the second towel in it’s place. The heated towel comes under the blankets with me like a hot water bottle. The process will be repeated as required.

I’ve tried the concept and it works flawlessly.

I don’t remember much from last night. I was struggling to stay awake as long as possible to try and stay awake….so I could sleep.

My strategy worked….and the towel trick was just the thing in my unheated room. I was down for almost 10 hours….and I have a witness, my watch.

Running the risk of this turning into some sort of novella, I woke up and got ready. After a handful of texts was out the door and walked up to Casa Ivar. Ivar is the fellow who arranged this Camino and generously offered for us to leave our baggage with him for the day.

After a really nice chat I was about the leave to buy walking poles. I asked if he sold these and he said no, but i do have these you can have for free. Lo and behold he pulls out a drawer of maybe 30 pairs of donated walking sticks. So I went at it and picked out a pair for me. Ivar was on the fence not knowing if poles were necessary. I tried to convince him taking 20% or more of the weight from your knees is worth it. Helping you not to fall during a decent is worth it. These things are the best.

So I selected a pair for Ivar too.

After my short visit and finding a place for an Americano breakfast I wondered past a small store selling hiking clothes and shoes. I was able to get a nice Columbia fleece, and realized I was really, really tired.

There is a small place in Santiago called The Pilgrim House. It’s a place for pilgrims to go, relax, and generally seek refuge for a bit.

Mi headed there, walked straight to the Library and did what I almost always do in a library.

Fell asleep.

After an hour I was feeling great.

….and feeling really, really hungry. What gives?

So what’s better at 3:30 in the afternoon but a bocadilla of chorizo and queso. Basically a sandwich made on a small baguette with fermented pork sausage (cured and sometimes smoked) with cheese. Oh, and red wine. The place I randomly found happened to serve this with a side of indifference. Perfect. Just what I was wanting.

Later it was off to meet our group in Casa Ivar. Our group consists of Ivar (our fearless leader, Norwegian living in Spain), Stephen (Scotland), Siobhan (UK), Sheron (Australia), et moi.

We were picked up in a van and hit the road to Sarria. The ride to Saria was roughly an hour and a half and when we got here, the hotel room was actually quite nice. Well done, Ivar. Almost immediately we gathered to go have dinner together and eat at a place within a minute of our front door. After a delightful dinner, we immediately came back to our own rooms and crashed for the night.

Tomorrow we start at 8 AM, well before the sun comes up. The plan is to have something to eat and then head out.

I’m curious to see how this unfolds.