Church is in Service...

If it looks like I'm having a litte trouble speaking or thinking, it's because I am (generation was meant to be generosity!)! After arriving at the albergue we drank several bottles of wine, mixed in with a couple of radlers I had in town before arriving at the albergue, and this morning my head is feeling a little foggy. I also woke up several times during the night, as the room was stuffy.

As per usual Anja and I were the last ones to get up and leave... Im really trying to adapt to this early morning thing, but even up at 8am isn't cutting it for these crazy pilgrims! After coffee in Markina, we split up, as it is more comfortable walking long distances in your own thoughts at your own pace..

Leaving Markina...

Words of encouragement along the Way..

A nice start to the day..

A cool old abandoned house...

A nice litte waterfall, although I thought I would find more I couldi dip my feet into...

The surrounding hills never cease to amaze...

For the horse fans...

Coming into the town of Bolibar, home to the ancestors of the revolutionary, Simon Bolivar...

Bust of Bolivar at the museum, which was closed on a Sunday..

Just another extraordinary view...

Shortly after this, I run into Anja again... She has fallen at one of the gates that are used to allow both pilgrims to pass through private property while also keeping livestock couped in, and has a nasty looking scrape and developing bruise on her leg, so i walk with her for a while. ..

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We pass a monastery, which we actually had a chance to stay at the night before, just as services are beginning on Sunday. There are less than 15 people, and my guess is that the pilgrims who stay here likely cover the expenses of the church...

For those curious, this Is an up close and very personal view of the inside of my shorts pocket... I literally delete dozens of these videos every day...

A walking path in the mountains...

One of 8 sections of stairs that descended to an inaccessible little babbling brook...

An old apple orchard ..

And then I pass this house in the middle of nowhere, with beautifully manicured lawn and shrubs and flowers, complete with statues of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. When I meet up with Anja for lunch, her first question is, "Did you see that garden?'

A call to mass or just a really good way to piss off the neighborhood?

Beautiful healthy animals in Spain...

We have talked several times about stealing one of these to carry our packs...

The photo's a little far away, but a picturesque house with flowers growing down a wall, the bridge in front and Chile peppers hung to dry..

A short while later, and only a few hundred feet in front of our albergue, Serin and Jo greet us from the patio of the only bar for miles, where we join them for a well deserved radler beer and the first olives of the trip. They are fantastic, and taste like anchovy stuffed, although there is no anchovy to be seen...

There are only 6 of us in the albergue tonight... Serin, Jo, Anja, myself and a young French couple we have stayed with at other places a couple of times. The night is a bit subdued, as we are all tired from walking. Dinner consists of a blended vegetable soup with a strong chicken stock flavour, though I am told there is no chicken to be found in it, followed by a delicious pork and gravy dish with rice, and then watermelon dices. The hospitalier here is a bit more reserved, less friendly and disappears as soon as dinner is served, and the meal was somewhat thin, but we are all too exhausted to notice, and the view frombthe terrace is spectacular. I have managed to find a way to watch the Lions game, and I go to sleep fully content...

Distance walked today... 19kms...

TOTAL DISTANCE WALKED SO FAR- 137KMS

I screwed up the relive app half way through the day, but here's what I did get...