Sansol

30 August 2025

Started out the day in a poopy mood. When I awoke, I realized the plug I had been “charging” my phone in all night must have been a hot switch to which the power is cut when the light switch is off and my phone was at 5%. The night before there was no hot water in the shower stall I chose, so I didn’t wash my hair. Then I went to put on a clean pair of socks and realized that I had two right feet. Normally socks are interchangeable, however I have been using toe socks for this trip and that means you have to actually have a matching pair. I didn’t check at home when I grabbed them as I was packing. Argh!! So I ended up leaving 30 minutes later than I wanted to. Warming up my legs in the morning is tough- for the first mile I felt like they weighed 100 pounds each, but I kept plodding along.

I am nearing the wine region of Rioja and seeing more and more vineyards. This morning at 8am I arrived at the famous wine fountain of the Camino, where a very gracious vineyard supplies 100L of wine a day for pilgrims to “fortify” themselves. Pilgrims drink from any container they have. I chose my Camino shell.

For some reason I was in a better mood after that… 😜 The path today was rolling hills of already harvested hay and ripening grapes. The sun was pretty strong for the second half of my day and it was a whole 9 miles of no shade. I fell into step with a woman from Austin named Danica and were chatting up a storm when we realized the miles go by so much faster when you are distracted from the thought of the backs of your knees getting sunburned, or how hot you are, or how tired your legs are.

It is a Camino phenomenon when you have met and spent time with people while walking, and then you don’t see them for a few days. When you happen upon them again it is a fabulous feeling of joy and reunion even though you barely know each other. The long legged Texan girls, Summer and Tiffany, were taking a break at an oasis of shade today and it was so fun to have my name called out like Norm from Cheers when I walked up!

I am glad it will be autumn when I return because I have some pretty funny tan lines now- from my shorts, socks, watch, and hiking pole straps.