Just for the record, i am only this far behind them as i kept taking photos

Navarette to Santo Domingo, 38km (yes my friends, you read that correctly) 

Ian’s sage-like advice after yesterday’s malarkey was to set off without a plan and without any expectations, which was exactly what I did. 

I have been waking up between 4am and 5am most mornings, but when you are sharing a room with up to 60 strangers, etiquette dictates that you lay there and doze until at least 6am.  But as I had a room to myself last night, there was no reason not to get cracking early doors.  I was feeling great after spending the last 15 hours either eating or horizontal (or at times, both) so set off just before sunrise to see what the day brought. 

For the first time since I started the skies were clear, so there was no need to stress about the clouds of Mordor rolling in. The landscape today continues to be stunning – rolling hills covered in a patchwork of vineyards, with a couple of snow capped mountan peaks in the background. Ridiculous number of photo stops along the way. 

Mid morning I was still feeling strong and coming into Najera had a fantastic surprise when I spotted Daphne and Gonzalo in front of a cafe on the edge of town, sprawled out in the standard pilgrim pose – tortillas and coffee remnants left, right and centre and feet propped up on the seat opposite (the cafe owners must love us!) Unfortunately Gonzalo was having some pretty severe trouble with his knee (think fifty shades of swollen) and was trying to get his head around the fact that he was going to catch a bus.  I really felt for him – he was obviously in agony but really trying to avoid the bus option for as long as he could (though to be fair, he did start walking in the middle of France about six weeks before me, so 20kms up the road isn’t really going to detract from his achievements!)

Anyway, bus it was and Daphne and I continued along the way, arranging to meet up with him again in Santo Domingo (though stupidly not thinking to offload any of our kit before he went – d’oh!) The weather was just perfect and suddenly my spring Camino was living up to all of my expectations – shorts, t-shirt and dad’s paint splattered sunhat, fruit trees in blossom, path side picnic spots aplenty and wide blue skies. Nice, nice and nice again. 

Even better in that it wasn’t long before we found Silvana stopped by the side of the road for a break. Despite slightly weary feet, I actually managed a happy dance at the sight of her and the excited ‘Jacqui!’ (read with German accent) I got in return was enough to make me forget all of my aches and pains. 

The three of us then reeled in the klicks all afternoon, eventually hobbling into Santo Domingo very tired but very pleased with ourselves – and even more so when we found an iced-up Gonzalo had already sorted our beds for the night and was waiting to lead us around the corner for the world’s biggest beer – well earned if I do say so myself.  

Funny how things go – I have walked almost double what I struggled with yesterday and (from the ankles up at least) could probably have kept going. Still, have decided there is no point rushing through this whole experience, so looking at a few shorter days over the next couple. Feels like time to stop and smell the roses – or the Rioja vines as the case may be … 

Three very tired pelegrinos celebrating with a well-earned beer