emilyonearth

Uggfff it is hot.

Today was hard work. Definitely in part because of the heat. And the sun. And the lack of shade. And the low blood sugar. But mostly because of the trucks! I don’t know who decided that this is the way to make the silly pilgrims walk, but it must have been along a major trucking route because I saw more trucks today than I would in most years, and they were driving past just a couple of metres away from us. I don’t know why that made it so much more unpleasant and difficult, but it did. It was not fun.

The first third of our day was spent just getting out of León. Walking through what once was its own town but now is essentially an outer suburb, we stopped to have breakfast after about 7km. After this we had a small amount of time on a trail, but then it was back to the road, and the trucks began. At around the 12km mark it was really warming up, so we stopped for a drink and a rest – good thing too, because the next 8km were gruelling. There was no shade, it was nearing 30°C by late morning, and the trucks were relentless. Finally we reached a small town whose only shop appeared to be a bakery, and we stopped for an ice cream and a handful of peanuts from the depths of mum’s bag.

Finally, we reached San Martín, and our albergue for the night. I think this is the third place, maybe fourth, that we’ve stayed which has had a pool, but it’s the first time I’ve gotten in. It was very nice and refreshing, and a highlight of the day.

At dinner we sat with Doris from the US and also had a good chat with the Australians at the neighbouring table who we had met earlier in the day. I had met the man of the couple first, as we both had medication that we were asking to be refrigerated, and we had an initial chat while both in the reception about how things were going so far. He and his wife had both just bought new shoes, as his had fallen apart entirely, and she had terrible blisters – I responded with the take of mum’s toes. Later, mum met them separately and, without the context of the earlier conversation, mentioned she had sore toes. They replied, “Oh, you must be Emily’s mum!” which she wasn’t expecting!!

It’s very hot in the room tonight, and particularly so up here on the top bunk! It seems strange to be looking forward to a cooler temp tomorrow of “just” 31°C!