I have decided that today is new shoe day !   I have been stretching the life out of my old treads as much as possible, but the time has come to switch.   The old shoes have been worn smooth.  

I was going to toss them, but decided instead to leave them where hikers store their shoes.  May they remain there for the ages. 

Oh boy do these feel great.   It is so nice not to feel every rock I step on.  

Today was mostly a flat hike through farmland 

Saw a church

Saw a head 

Checked out a ruin

Made a video for Clair and Jamie 

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Ok, so kings and queens probably didn’t live in those ruins….but I’m sure some important people were there at one time or another and Grandpa’s are allowed to embellish.   

I was intercepted by my German friend Tom who slowed his pace a bit and had a chat.  He is 27 years old, has a technical degree and was working as a rough equivalent of a civil engineer on the railroad system.  He visited Thailand on vacation and something sparked.    

He is super fit, always smiling, and has a wonderfully positive outlook on life.  We talked all kinds of things.  Motorcycles (he has a 750 Suzuki GSX), relationships, sailing, hiking, and my own various adventures.  He has decided to change up his life.  After the Camino, he is joining the German Army for 2 years, then who knows what.  

His parents want him to stay home, but I don’t think you can keep a spirit like his locked up.  This boy is going to leave a positive footprint on the world.  I wish I could somehow check on him in the future, but alas, long distance hiking is usually like this.  You meet these bright sparks, share their energy for a while, then they drift off down the trail.   I am very happy for him.    

We split up and I hiked on into Castrojeriz. The town is dominated by an old ruin on top of the hill.  I didn’t have the energy to check it out, but it would make a good side trip. 

Walking into town I saw this sign with the number for taxis.  I don’t know why I took the picture, but it turned out to be serendipitous as I would find out later. 

I liked this sign

We checked into the hotel and had pizza for lunch.  It was soooooo good.  While munching on our pizza we had a chat with Jeff, a retired SoCal Gas dude from Bakersfield.  He recently retired and is kind of lux hiking the Camino.  He transports his pack due to a neck injury and is generally staying in the better hotels.  Nice guy. 

Joe and I did some planning for the next 5 days and started reserving spots.  

Joe and I did our Mother’s Day calls, I got to do a short FaceTime call with Alice, Stephanie, Adam, Jamie, Claire, and all the sisters.  It was great to see them, but could not really talk much.  Too noisy and the lag makes it hard to say much. Called my Mom and sister who are doing well. 

Then we turned in for a nice quiet sleep in a real hotel room 🙂