Two More Firsts for the Trip

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Tonight's entry will probably be short. We are sitting in a VERY NOISY bar in Santo Domingo de la Calzada, the only Wi-Fi connection in a medium sized town.

Today brought two more "Firsts" for the trip. One, we had our first real headwinds. Though they were not bad, we did feel them as we climbed 65 kms. through the Oca Mountains. Second, we did not get lost at all. In fact, even leaving Burgos was a piece of cake. Of course, the fact that we were on N-120 the entire day was a help.

We deliberately started out late this morning as it was quite cold last night. I slept in tights and a long sleeve shirt and socks. So this morning, we lingered in our sleeping bags until nearly 8:00, took nice hot showers, ate breakfast, and finally left at around 10 a.m. Just as we were exiting the campground, our "new friends," Linda and Jurgen from Switzerland, stopped us to say hello. Last evening they invited us to spend some time in Basel with them later this summer. We may just take them up on that offer -- a bed, dinner, a guided tour of the city -- who can pass that up? And they are a lovely couple.

In spite of the heavy truck traffic on the road today, it was a pleasant ride, with just one stop at a the summit of Puerto de la Pedraja where the the picnic tables and benches are made from old kilometer stones from along the Camino.

We arrived here by 3:00 or so and discovered that the campground is 4-5 kilometers out of town, so we headed to the convent and got a room in the albergue for a donation of 5 euros each. There are only three beds in our room; they provide sheets, blankets, and real pillows, hot showers, and a full kitchen (but no Wi-Fi). The building housing the albergue is actually part of a medieval monastery. We will be sleeping in history.

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