Day 16 - walking from Hontañas to Itero de la Vega (21km)

Today was a quiet day. I had to eat breakfast from the vending machine in the albergue that morning because I had finished my reserve and the next store was in a town 10km a way. Usually a Spanish breakfast from what I have encountered consists of coffee or tea with biscuits or small melba toasts. I miss Canadian breakfasts where you actually get to eat something in the morning. Most of the time I eat when I want which is usually grazing on fruit, nuts and snacks I buy along the way. For lunch I will make a cheese or ham sandwhich. It is a fine balance between carrying too much food and not being able to find food in the next town. I try to mix it up as much as possible, but sometimes the albergues don´t have kitchens which means you are stuck with whatever cold options are in the grocery store. Supermercados or Food stores in Spain are still like museums to me. In small towns they are often one room with packed shelves. If there is not a store there is usually a van that drives around about midday honking it´s horn and there is a store in the back. It is also a question of timing and what will be open and it is not always logical for north american thinkers.

In the next town I met up with a French man I had met earlier on the trip who was resting an injury. In the bar there was an eighty year old man from the catalan region who was doing his thirtieth camino. It seems strange to go to a bar for breakfast but they are sort of the Spanish coffee shop.

That evening in Itero de la Vega I met two Spanish cyclists completing a camino that they had started about three years ago. They were from Palencia the province I had just crossed into and it was interesting learning about the region from locals. They were waiting for a stamp for their credencials and then were heading home. I was by myself in the albergue that night. Each day I see less and less pilgrims. The middle stretch is often skipped over. I would have slept better if I had been able to lock the door or at least close it completely. I guess I am a city girl who is used to being able to lock the door to feel safe. It was interesting to think about the fact that was something that was important to me.