Yesterday we stayed in a donativo hostel. That means you pay whatever you think the place is worth. The unwritten rule is €10 for a bed, but if they also invite you to dinner and have breakfast and coffee ready for you in the morning, you give €25. Of course, you can give more or less – depending on whether the night treated you to peaceful sleep or a full-blown snoring orchestra.
Usually, the staff in donativo hostels really try to make you feel at home. And they did. I ate amazingly well. We even got the recipe for a tomato soup enriched with breadcrumbs, garlic, olive oil, and finally decorated with small cubes of boiled egg and ham. Divinity in a bowl – I sang while eating. The result: €30 left my wallet, but it was a transaction of the heart, not the head.
Finally, a conversation in English. After a long time, I could talk to people who actually speak it well, and the communication was genuinely fun. I met an older gentleman from Seville who had come to this village for a holiday. A holiday? Here? Probably just to sleep, because there’s really nothing else to do. He had walked from Salamanca to here – in three days. When I told him I planned to go straight to Salamanca tomorrow, he asked if I’d fallen on my head. I told him – many times in life.
He warned me the route wasn’t difficult, but it was brutal – no shade at all. I replied confidently: “I’m starting early, at 4:00. The sun won’t even see me.” Well, it did – like that acquaintance you never invite to a party but who still shows up and drinks all the beer.
If only I could bottle the morning freshness. If I could pause it and switch it back on at 14:00, the day would be perfect. The stage is ideal for cyclists – a long, beautiful road without end. I thought of my parents and how much they’d enjoy pedalling here. I would too… if I had a bike and there was shade.
For my good-morning gift, I got 13 km of gravel. My right foot now feels like a squashed croissant. That’s when I lost all will to ever walk again in my life. On top of that, I started through the forest at 4:00. My body was tense with fear of rabbits (yes, rabbits), as if I were about to face a bear. The full moon kept me company, but paranoia was still at 200%.
A little night adventure with Google Maps. Buen Camino app? No, thanks. In the mornings I prefer Google Maps – it gives voice directions so I don’t have to stare at the screen. You can’t see the arrows in the dark anyway. Of course, I ended up as a gatekeeper again. Walked through one gate, checked the app 20 minutes later – of course I’d gone the wrong way. Google had taken me across private property. I prayed to the universe that the next gate would be open. It was – I sighed in relief as if I’d just deleted a wrongly sent text.
The morning is paradise until the sun arrives. Two hours of poetry – sunrise and cool air. Then heat from above and below, like walking on a grill plate. I kept thinking about what to do. At the 30 km mark, common sense caught up with me and said: “Hey, you don’t want to arrive in Salamanca in a coffin.” So I stopped at 34 km, in Morille.
Another treeless village. And to top it off – 4 more kilometres of gravel. That’s when I decided the only thing that matters now is reaching Santiago – even if on all fours. Up to 37 km a day is still enjoyable, after that it’s just athletic torture in the sun. My original plan was to do the Camino Primitivo after the Camino de la Plata. But it looks like we won’t be dancing together this year. I’ve walked it before and miss it – misty mountains, sunrises… like home. But fuck it – now the goal is to survive the Plata.
Arrival in the village – and a fiesta. When I got there, I went straight to the shop to check how much had been looted. Then to the accommodation – to see if they even knew what a kitchen was. I asked the shop owner when they closed. He said: “At 14:00, reopening at 19:00.” I was shocked – it’s Saturday! He: “No, no, not today. We have a fiesta, I’m not opening again at all.” Perfect – another night with no sleep.
I told Nathalie today that I wasn’t going to Salamanca because my foot wouldn’t let me. Her plan was 20 km because she’s tired from the walk and the heat. But apparently, she had a turbo day because she was walking behind me again and by 13:00 we were back to the legendary “No.”
Kilometres: 34.27 km
Elevation gain: 398 m
