No, AC/DC is not the playlist of the day. And I’m not covered in bruises. Black & Blue are the colors of my walking clothes and I got to wear them again today!

Those keeping up with my journey on here know that I decided to walk a marathon on Monday. It was not the smartest thing I’ve done this week. I got a couple of blisters and hurt my foot while trying to avoid walking on the blisters. I was worried that I’d really don’t some damage, but it seems like the worry was unwarranted. I walk a normal day of 14 or so miles Tuesday and decided to cut that back to walking only 6 Wednesday. On Thursday I decided to take a taxi about 40km (and one mountain) forward to a place of relatively level ground and rest completely for the day. It seems to have done me good because I hit the trail again this morning and got 14 miles in and had a bit of discomfort but no serious pain. Thank you all for the prayers!

The day off yesterday was a good one. I got to write in my journal and get caught up on that so I could have a good account of where I was and things I saw. I enjoyed what is probably the best meal I’ve had on the Camino so far. A little bar restaurant near my albergue had some sort of veal steak on the menu that looked appetizing. So I ordered a pint of beer, a steak (medium rare, of course), some fries, and some sautéed bell peppers. And something that they called ‘French toast’ for dessert that was absolutely incredible. I just sat there reading book and enjoying the incredible meal all the while sitting next to the cathedral. I was also blessed to get into the cathedral to pray for a while and even got to walk through the Holy Door there. It turns out the town where we were staying (Santo Domingo de la Calzada) is named after a Saint who was born in 1019, so they’re celebrating the millennial anniversary with a Holy Year. Plenary Indulgence? Yes, please! Also, Santo Domingo has an interesting story about him and some chickens; might be worth a google search. 🐔

Today has been really cool, almost cold. It was really windy and at midday is finally getting into the 60’s. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ll never complain about that kind of weather! Little signs of God’s love. It’s about time to get my clothes cleaned up and to get some food & drink in this body of mine to prep for tomorrow.