Day 10: Santo Domingo

 

Mileage

We walked 13.2 miles from Nájare to Santo Domingo

Highlights

When we woke up, everyone in our hostel was gone. We aren't late risers, it's just that everyone on the Camino leaves their accommodations before 6am to start hiking. Some people leave at 4:30am to miss the sun altogether! I do complain about the sun in the last hour of hiking, so I guess their technique has some merit... but Grace and I aren't ready to accept that yet. At 7am, we went downstairs to eat breakfast. John, our hilarious Irish friend, dispensed coffee from a coffee vending machine for us and gave us an extra croissant he had to share. We were skeptical of the coffee since our one and only vending machine coffee experience was far from pleasant, but this one was surprisingly decent.

The three of us headed out together and remained hiking buddies for the rest of the day. John is a wild child who, at 33, has seen and lived in more places than most people experience in a lifetime. He was excellent company and made the day fly by. He even helped my Mom and I scout out pee spots, which was probably only because he was tired of us whining about having to pee.

It was an especially beautiful walk today- we even got out early enough to avoid being in the sun too much. We arrived to our hostel (which holds 200 people) and were greeted with wine and chorizo on slices of baguettes. My mom and I got a bunk in a room for 16 people. The place seemed clean and had great wifi, so I was happy.

What a lovely way to be welcomed to a €7 per bunk hostel

Our bunk room...we try to get rooms with 4-6 people but that doesn't always work out. 

Immediately after we arrived, we went to eat tapas. I was starving since we barely ate anything all day. They were the best tapas I've ever had- as fresh as they get. Then I took a nap. I'm starting to adapt to this whole siesta thing and I love it. I'm still confused about what people do when they arrive so early to villages...

A Trace of Grace

Notes from a trekking Mama

Having time to sit and do nothing is a challenge for me. When our hiking day ends early, there are many hours until dinner and there isn't a lot for pilgrims to do besides sleep or site-see, neither of which I am good at doing. It is a good practice for me to sit and breathe though, and maybe have another glass of wine.