Mombuey to Puebla de Sanabria (15.67 miles / 25.23 k)

Today was going to be my short day and a day of rest, and it thankfully turned out that way.

The day seemed to start out well when Michael came back to the alberque before seven and said that he found a bar open down the street. The bar of course is also the restaurant.

Yes they are open and it is coffee, tea, or orange juice, and the only really food is the white toasted bread with butter and jelly. I finally figured that I need to carry cheese or so ting to put on the toast so I can at least add some substance and food value to it.

I had decided to walk on the road again today as it was almost a straight line to Puebla de Sanabria on both the Camino route and the quiet N-525 road. Both again, side by side, and the same distance. I later found out others were doing the same thing. 

It started walking at eight and it was very dark and a bit foggy. I had been told that it wasn’t going to rain and had packed my rain gear and Wheelie rain cover deep in my backpack. Within a mile it started to mist a little and I stopped to move my rain gear to where I could get to them quickly. I turned to strap the Wheelie back on when out of nowhere Mikio literally appeared five feet away from me! Mikio has been showing up in the same places as me for the last five or six days, but he has startled me several times by showing up in the middle of nowhere.

I have to go back a few days when I was leaving Montamarta. I had mentioned it in my blog that I had stopped and he showed up, but in reality it was a little to it than that.

Mikio had left forty-five minutes before me and he is a fast walker, so he should have been way ahead of me. I was on the road and he was on the Camino route. I had stopped because nature was calling. like it does for everyone, even us on the Camino. I was in the middle of nowhere and could clearly see that no one was even close to me. I had found a secluded spot near a gravel road that was overgrown with weeds, so no worry about car traffic. I saw a nice sloped guard rail that looked like it would be a good seat of sorts. I backed myself up to it, dropped my pants, and nuzzles into that guard rail like a hen sitting down on an egg. I was enjoying the scenery and listening to the chirping of the birds and thinking how much nicer this was than a bathroom in an alberque with a multitude of other pilgrims. Such peace! But then I heard it, ” Oh, hello. I got lost.” And there standing ten feet away from me was Mikio! Mikio is a man of very few words, but this morning I think he wanted to talk! He mumbled something that I couldn’t understand and started to walk over closer to me. I cleared my throat and said, “excuse me, but I am going to the bath room.” Oh, he said,” and then wandered off, not to be seen until later that night at diner. 

Today he did it to me again, almost scarring me. I am scared at the thought of having another nature call in some remote place on the Camino now. I thought about it and I think next time I hear all those bells on the cattle, sheep, and goats, I am going to steal one and figure a way to put it on Mikio.

So, after my encounter with Mikio it actually started to mist so much it turned into light rain. I put my rain gear on and the Wheelie cover and while I was doing it, an Italian couple passed by me on the road. Apparently, like Mikio, they too had decided to walk on the road too.

The walk was nice today as I seemed to have a little of my rhythm back. My knee and shin still trouble me and I found the downhills a little more challenging. 

I got to Puebla de Sanabria by 2:00, only six hours. I think I was like the stable horse that could sense the stable and started walking faster. I was looking forward to having a short day and getting a little extra rest.

When I got to the edge of town I saw the Hotel J-Enrimary. It looked rather big and fancy for the small little town, but it is near the main highway. I first hesitated to stop as it looked to fancy for my Camino experience and then I remember yesterday that I had walked by the only hotel in town, so I checked in. 

At 40€ it was a little more than the usual 5, 19, and 15€, but I wanted something nice for my short day. Wow, it turned out to be a very nice place! It had a bath tub, and a deep and comfortable one at that! Exactly what I have been dreaming of for weeks. I filled the tub with hot, hot water, and poured in two bottles of bath soap. I threw in all my dirty clothes and sat in there for almost a hour. It felt great on my knee and shin. The best they have felt in a long time. And my clothes got pretty clean too. There is a big hot towel bar and I hung on my clothes on there to dry. Wow! Heaven!

To top it all off, there is a real nice restaurant down stairs, and as in most of Spain, it doesn’t open until 8:30. However, there is a full menu cafe attached which is open 24 hours! Yes, 24 hours! I can go there tonight, after midnight, and of course, in the morning and actually get something real to eat for breakfast too. 

I ended up eating diner there and the food was actually pretty good. I have a nice balcony with a table and chairs but it has been raining so I can’t use it. To bad.

I hate to leave here as this is a great hotel, and I would consider staying here another day just to soak in the tub, but I’d rather do that in a nicer city or place, so I will head out tomorrow. It is suppose to rain again and I will just be prepared for it. Tomorrow, unfortunately, will be a long day as there is no choice since the next town is almost twenty miles. Hopefully it will be s good day like today.  
As always, please excuse the typos, spelling, grammar, as this is sometimes written without proof reading, late at night, under the covers, with little sleep, etc., etc.

Best wishes,

Ted

Leaving town at sunrise

Yes, that is Mikio! Right after he surprised me.

Asturianos?

A church on the outskirts 

The Enrimary 

My room.

My bath

And my favorite, the tub! Good wash machine too. 

My deck that I didn’t use because it was raining