Santo Domingo to Belorado

The first day.

So many things happened today. I forgot just how much you can squeeze into one day! And it's only 2 pm!

I might as well go chronologically and give you my brainwaves as I got them.

First was that it rained. The whole way. I know my rain and it was down for the day. So I decided, made a conscious decision to just deal with it and enjoy what was given to me. It occurred to me that I was being selfish not liking the rain. The farms all around me were so lushly green and thriving, just loving it. Then the water soaked my gloves through and I moved onto enviously looking at other people's seemingly fantastic rain gear.

I figured out soon enough that everyone just gets wet. No matter how much you spent. It is the great leveller, that and pain. Which miraculously I haven't felt so much yet. My ankle is all strapped up and it worked! Miracles on the camino! Also I'm softening up my feet nicely with the Vaseline in the mornings. I don't care if you don't need to know that. I need to tell you. It's part of it. Get over it. :)

I met several French and was amazed at the amount of information I was able to get across. I thought I was way worse at French! Maybe they were just being nice. Either way they were very nice.

I stopped off in a little villagelet (it was too small to be a village) and had something to eat while standing because everything was wet. I found a Hungarian guy sheltering with me but had to leave because I was getting cold.

Running down the hill out if town to get warm an English speaker caught up with me and gosh it was nice to talk to someone without not knowing the word for "walk" in French or Spanish (seriously I can't remember, help!) I was talking to him for the last 12 kilometers and it flew by! Topics ranged, as they always do from jobs to national economies to the camino to religion to books and it was just wonderful. Made me forget about the rain!

We arrived in Belorado, a tiny little typical Spanish town at 11.30am. Way earlier than I thought I would! In fact. I didn't even think if make it this far. 24km in 5 hours, average speed of 4.5 km per hour. Not bad unfit grace. I'll feel how I did tomorrow, but I've been forbidden to mention any difficult or painful bits by mum because she is doing it next August. I'm sure it won't be raining in August.

I'm in a hostel that cost €5 after a lunch of gorgeous tapas and tea, probably not typical, and my clothes are in the dryer and I'm delighted.

I seem to have made a friend of the hospetaliero. I translated the last three bed transactions from English and French into Spanish and have sorted three people's WiFi. I think I should get the night free. Or at least breakfast!

I was invited to dinner with a couple if people if this albergue had a kitchen, but alas it didn't so we had to rain check (haha! Geddit?!)

I'm off for a nap, covered in all my warm freshly dried clothes!

Ps I need to buy a fleece.