A shot in the dark. Distance 27.2 km (16.9 mi / 16.6 plus one) to go538.2 km

I had a great time last night, conversing and visiting. We had three people in the albergue from Idaho; Tanner from the north (Moscow) and...uh oh, I forgot her name, from the east (American Falls), and of course, me. I was in the mud room (many of the albergues don't allow hiking shoes or poles inside, when the very nice woman with the name that will eventually come back to me walked up and asked, "Are you Frog?" We thought it unusual to have three of us under one roof! Percentage-wise it would have been like having 5 people from NYC, but quieter. (Editors note: Her name was Kelly, a nice Irish name.)

I found out there was an 8 p.m. church service in the 16th century Cathedral built to honor Santo Domingo. (My apologies to the man but the first reference I saw had his name spelled wrong so I dutifully misspelled it several times yesterday) Like Rodney Dangerfield, the man just doesn't get no respect. As a young man he decided to devote his life to God, but the church wouldn't take him because he was poor and uneducated. So he devoted his life to establishing the Camino to honor St. James. Upon his death he was buried in the church that bears his name.

I walked around the courtyard and Calle Mayor (Main St.). Ended up in a nice conversation with Yogi, a young, pretty Georgia peach (Rochelle?) who just graduated from college and is moving to Chicago upon her return to the U.S. (sorry honey, she already signed a lease), Enrico, from dinner in Zubiri (Uraguay) and a new friend of his. We were talking about how you meet so many people and always think you'll never see them again, then somewhere way down the road, run into them again and find out they aren't as far ahead as you thought. I mention this because early this morning I ran into Pauline from day 1. She was standing in the middle of the street as I approached, then let out a "Frog" that echoed down the street!

She was hiking with a very tall Dutchman named Carlo, but said J.J. and Jeremy were in the same town. I have not seen them all day but was surprised to hear they weren't days ahead by now.

This morning everyone was up and stirring when I awoke so I got up, packed and was on my way out the door when I took a peek at my phone. It was 6 a.m.!

An early start allows for early miles. By the time I stopped for breakfast it was 8:30 and I had already covered about 7 miles, although I forgot to turn Strava on for the first 45 minutes.

I talked briefly with Ken from the U.K., but he was in a hurry trying to catch up with an Aussie lass that he had been with for the last couple days. When I arrived in the next town I caught up with him and he introduced me to Sarah, a delightful young lady who said she loved my Tilly. Now I know the Aussies to have strange names for many things but I wasn't quite sure about this one.

It turned out I don't have a Tilly, an outdoorsman hat similar to the one I wear. She had one and was excited to see what she thought was another, a hat guaranteed for its life!

As I prepared to depart I went to the fuentes to refill my water bottle, only to have Sarah yell at me that the water was not potable. Sure enough, this was the first public fountain I had seen that had a "do not drink" sign on it! Too late, as I had already contaminated my bottled water and tasted just a small sampling. I guess I'm contaminated now Alicia. Our kids will be born naked!

All afternoon we hop-scotched. When I stopped for lunch they passed me. Then I passed them when they stopped for lunch, back and forth it went until I decided to jump one town ahead of the guide book. Instead of packing it in at Belorado I decided to walk into the early afternoon sun and arrived at Tosantos, a small town with very few choices for albergues and fewer for places to eat. 

On the way I walked, again very briefly, with Caroline, an Irish lass from the U.K. who was in a hurry to get to Tosantos because she didn't want to be in the sun too long. I could tell from her lilly white complexion and red hair that she was Irish, a fact I confirmed when I met her later at the albergue.

I am at a quaint little place for the evening, with a grass (!) courtyard between the "bar" and sleeping quarters. The proprietors here are very friendly and trusting. They insisted I settle in, even take a nap or shower if I wanted, before registering and paying. I saw at least two people come back to pay for drinks that were given to them without collecting at the time.

I should be in Burgos in two days. Time to sight see and take a short break (and, if I'm lucky, figure out where my pictures are hiding)!