Almost Famous

There was no heat again in the room last night. But using way too many blankets made up for that. The morning breakfast was simple, just toast and jam with coffee. We were on the road before the sun was too high in the sky.

It was a gentle descent into the valley, and then after about a mile and a half we looked at a steep grade. The signs showed a 15 percent incline. I'm guessing that was on average. There were some fairly steep sections, and on the back side a steep descent, then flatland.

At our first coffee stop Spence recognized a Camino YouTube celebrity named Ricky. He was very affable and said he might even check out my blog. Would that make me a minor Camino celebrity? One could only hope. If you're reading, Ricky, welcome to my spot on the Internet.

One of the interesting features along the route today was a narrow bridge. In order to sequence traffic, a light would go green or red periodically, to allow cars to travel in only one direction at a time. A tractor passed as we were at the top of the bridge and there wasn't a lot of room.

Later on the trail, I found another abandoned shoe. That seems to be a thing. It also seems to always be just a single shoe. I wonder if it is some way to mark progress, or a lack of it? And where is the other shoe?

At the locks of Fromista we got to visit with Angela from California, and Miriam from Berlin.  Angela was walking the trail while her daughter recovered from a bad ankle. Each day more people are discovering minor injuries that are compounded by continual walking. So far, Spence and I have been fortunate: No blisters, no problems, and no equipment issues. That might be tested over the next two days, as we face an 80 percent chance of rain ahead.