I was tired when I closed my eyes but sleep didn’t come for many hours. At some point, it must have, for I had some pretty crazy nightmares. All traces were gone by morning, though, and when the first few folks started rustling around in the early dark hours, I decided I might as well be ahead of the rush instead of behind it. That meant I was all packed up and on the street in the dark. I didn’t have too far to walk today, so I wasn’t in a rush, but I ended up walking quickly to try and stay warm. It was a chilly morning!

I recognized a few hikers from a few days ago, Dr. C (trail name) and Judy were from the Boston area, and we had stayed at the same hostel a few days ago. We quickly fell into step with each other, and the morning passed quickly as we talked trail and gear. You can read about some of Dr. C’s adventures over at Trail Journals, including his thru-hike of the Colorado Trail last year.

I stopped just a short while later for a salad. I haven’t had many green things out here because I keep getting distracted by pastries and seafood, but it was good to eat a few legumes. I met a group from the Midwest when I was standing in line, and there was even a woman from Appleton, Wisconsin, not far from where I grew up!

There was a brief rain shower in the early afternoon, enough for us to get our rain gear out again, but it was almost over as soon as it began. The day was a conglomeratation of other days: vineyards, forest, gardens, and villages.

I got to the last hostel of my Camino (I’ll be in a hotel near the cathedral tomorrow night), found my bunk, and had a bit of a nap wirh the heating pad on my neck. Until today, my neck hasn’t really bothered me.

Kirk and I chatted before I headed out again, looking for food in the heart of Padron. Apparently, I had just missed a huge party. The city center was a mess of garbage, but a few folks were already working to clean it up. I couldn’t find a thing open, and I spotted Rob, the Texan I met yesterday, so sat down with him to talk. Soon his friend Damon came up and we went in search of food and drink. Turns out Damon’s birthday was yesterday, and he is 48, too! Go 1977!

We ended up at an Italian restaurant with visions of fresh pasta in our heads but instead found pizza. We were fine with pizza, so we ordered a few and had a grand night of pizza and good wine.

I was back in my bunk at a decent hour and went to sleep with visions of Santiago dancing through my head.