Last night, I got the best sleep of the trip so far. There was a large (numerically, not physically) Japanese contingent at the Albergue, as well as (large) Canadian women. Don’t know if there is any cause/effect, but it was snoreless. I felt guilty making my rustling noises as I arose this morning. It is hard to sleep though, regardless of other noise, because you wake up in anticipation of the next day, thinking about what you need to do to be ready. Mental check lists keep you awake. From what I can tell in chatting to others, there’s definitely a pleasant addiction to this adventure. Everyone feels the same way and I don’t see any Kool Aid in sight.
The biggest criticism I have of the Camino is that once you arrive, you’re pretty fried – and you have remarkably little time (or energy) to explore the place you worked so hard to get to. It takes about 2 hours to get settled, showered, bedding done, personal effects packed away to safety. Then to eat and hydrate.
This blog and photo edits take about 60-90 minutes, so that has to be factored in, and then the heat just drains any resolve you might have had to do big touristy-type things….. meaning you skulk around, take some photos and go to bed. It’s the journey, not the destination, apparently. It’s also 90ºF. For the Euro-trash readership speaking a different language, conversion is 90-32 x 5/9= 32ºC. Hot. Like Doris.