It Belongs to the Camino

The Albergues run on a tight budget. For that reason many of them are not heated and it is unusually cold here at the moment. We spend our evenings wearing a fleece and a down jacket. When I crawl into my bunk (hopefully a lower one) I wear leggings, a long sleeve merino and my fleece. A friend lent me a very lightweight but warm down sleeping bag (thank you A!). So it is all good. As Nederlander Jeanette says "It belongs to the camino".

The albergue in Monesterio that I stayed in last night was at first glance perfect in that it was extremely clean. It turned out that the hospitalero suffered from ocd. He would rush in to clean the toilet as soon as it was used. He was in the kitchen tidying up after us, not giving us a chance to do it ourselves and this morning he barged into my room as I was dressing to gather my sheets for laundering. We all felt pressured to gobble down our breakfast quickly and to leave the building as soon as possible. As a final boot he was following us down the stairs, washing the steps right behind us. The poor man is quite ill and must not be able to lead a normal life.
So ushered out so quickly, I wasn't organized, my water bladder was not hooked up correctly, it was raining. So out on the sidewalk getting my act together. I suppose this also belongs to the camino.

 So it is difficult to take photos in the rain but here is a friendly soul that I could not resist.

 A beautiful stretch with stone walls outlining the green fields. I walked in the morning with Richard from Florida. We discussed the difficulties in abandoning our spouses so we can fullfill our compulsion to walk.

 Raining harder, the terrain changes to fields of grain.

 Nearing our destination of Fuente de Cantos (21 kms) the rain is easing.

 Fuente de Cantos looking lovely as we approach. It is a very nice town to wander through. Being Monday most of the shops are closed.

 I walked with the Belguim couple in the afternoon. They are more my speed.

 Arriving at the hostal I was asked, "Did you see the puppies?" I was not the only 1 wanting to abduct them from their poop filled cages. They were lovely and gave much affection.

On arriving I was happy to see Austrian Karen and soon Florida Richard joined us. We 3 went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. 
Everyone had wet boots but there was plenty of newspaper available to fill one's boots to soak up the wet.

Our albergue is close to the church. We will have to go outside into the (albergue) courtyard to visit the toilets. 

There is a little kitchen. I walked to the grocery store and picked up vegies for a tuna salad which Karen and I will share.

Another great day!