Not a good night! Snoring, uncomfortable metal bunks, cockerels and church bells resulted in little sleep for me and most of my travelling companions. Jacqui, Jenny and I were up, dressed and out not long after 6 in search of a coffee. Fortunately we didn't have to go far for a lovely little bar serving all sorts of yummy breakfast goodies, including warm chocolate croissants. The others joined us and we ate well (how unusual) but it has to be said I did regret that sickly croissant later in the day! It was the usual chilly, cloudy start which is actually quite a nice way to start the day and get some kilometres under your belt before the temperature rises. After leaving Santa Domingo, the way becomes a little more undulating than on the previous days and is often near to the N120. We thought the scenery was a bit like the South Downs in parts. There was quite a steep climb into Granon which had an Albergue serving refreshments as we entered it but we decided to go on in search of a proper cafe which, we discovered, Ganon didn't seem to have. There was a momentary dip in spirits directly related to the corresponding dip in caffeine levels but we soldiered on in the hope that our guardian angel would see us all right! There was quite a steep decline after Granon and after a couple of kilometres we crossed the Rioja/ Castile border where there was a big sign showing us that we had just entered the 5th of 11 stages of the Camino and there still seemed to be an awfully long way still to go!! We were very happy that the little village of Redecilla del Camino had an open cafe and as we sat down the sun came out and shone in a clear blue sky for the first time since we had arrived in Spain. Boots off, plasters checked, sun cream on and hats out (including my much (secretly) admired Camino Buff hat with attractive yellow arrows all over it which made me look like a murderer/GI/saddo (delete as appropriate). The parish Church of Nuestra Senora de la Calle has, and I quote, "a must see Romanesque baptismal font, perhaps the most important font on any of the Camino routes. It depicts a heavenly Jerusalem atop eight columns and a serpent curled around the base signifying the triumph of God over evil" and we saw it!! We got ourselves lunch and haribou from the cafe and set off in the sunshine. It was hot and quite a lot of the next bit was on or near the road which is hard underfoot. The plan was to walk on for an hour or so and find a cafe where we could get a drink and eat our lunch. But the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry as Robbie Burns so rightly said. He must have walked the Camino! The scenery was particularly pretty in the sunshine which deepened the red of the poppies in the fields. We walked through a beautiful little village with swifts swooping above our heads. It reminded me of Falmer - very pretty but too near the road! Eventually we saw signs to a restaurant and got our hopes up. A foolish thing to do especially on a Monday in Europe. Francis thinks I am obsessed with Lundi ferme but a lot of European countries don't open on a Monday which may have sparked Brexit!! So lunch was sitting on a wall in the garden of a restaurant which was closed on Mondays (I rest my case). Anne kept our spirits up with talk of a swimming pool at the hostel we were staying at in Belorado. If nothing else the Camino teaches you to manage expectations!! We walked on and Jenny and I were lagging behind (something apparently she often did on the moonwalk!). We saw an Albergue in the distance advertising a pool but it wasn't our one so our excitement was short lived. We bumped into a couple of English guys from Warwick who had been in our restaurant in Santa Domingo the night before where we had obviously made quite an impression (on the noisy laughter front rather than the sexy babes front strangely!). Like us they were doing a second leg of the Camino from Logrono but we're going on beyond Burgos. They were staying in the Albergue we has just passed which was only 5 euros and had a swimming pool!!! There sure are bargains to be had on the Camino! They said they would be in town later to watch the England v Iceland match which, although I fancied seeing, I really didn't want England to win as I could just imagine the behaviour of some of our fans post Brexit and the sort of headlines the Sun would come up with and I feared I couldn't stomach it. Belorado really was a lovely little town and the very pretty church of Santa Maria had storks' nests on its towers with real storks in them!! I had seen storks nests before but never with storks in them - it was a lovely sight. We found our hostel which had a statue of a pilgrim outside which Sue could not resist sexually harassing! (Obviously the combination of being a newly wed and the constant Frankie Howard references on this Camino had rid her of her inhibitions - she was a paragon of virtue last year!) The hostel looked great and after a momentary panic when they said they didn't have a booking for us and hadn't received payment we got the keys to our lovely 6 bedded, pine bunk dorm! We looked around and found they had a lovely garden, swimming pool, roses, chickens, yoga on the lawn and a vending machine which sold Cava!!!! Jenny was in heaven (she didn't have one of those on the moonwalk I'll bet!!) We drank beer, cava and Sangria in the sunshine, Anne and Sue swam as they had bought their cossies - it was great and unusual on the Camino to just relax! I took the opportunity to write up some more of this blog and then we all showered and changed. I would like to note here that the new Mrs Parker had an impressive evening wardrobe - every night she pulled out something new like a magician pulling endless scarves out of a hat! Spain had played Italy that afternoon and there were endless little children running around in Spanish football shirts - it was sweet but they didn't seem too distressed that Spain had lost! We went to the square for a pre dinner drink as we had decided to eat in the hostel that night. The guys from Warwick had come out to eat and hopefully see the England game but we had to be in by 10 and so it wasn't really a option for us - I could see the disappointment on Jacqui, Jenny, Fiona and Anne's faces but they took it well. Francis rang and upped the competition on the Camino front - they had walked so far, through stunning countryside in such heat that Jason had given up on the last few miles and taken a taxi! It seemed Jason also had more blisters than all of us together. My they were in the lead in this competition! Back at the Albergue we went straight to the pretty little dining room and had the most delicious meal so far. Hake, Paella, Chicken, Natillas and some lovely red and white Rioja which was only 4 euros extra here as opposed to 15 the night before! Jacqui got a really funny spoof report about Brexit from Elliott which is worth including here: The reality of the Brexit vote hit home this week when nearly 3000 croissants were detained at Dover. The croissants were found crammed into the back of a lorry. Border police had become suspicious, after the vehicle failed to stop for a routine check. The driver of the lorry claimed to be unaware of his extra cargo. Brexit voters across the country are perplexed at the impact of their vote. With the new restrictions on the free trade agreement, our choices for breakfast are becoming increasingly limited. Beryl, 72, from Dudley commented: ‘When I voted Brexit, I'd forgotten how much I loved croissants. I didn’t realise they were French’. Joan, 97, from Newcastle agreed saying ‘Before the referendum, I thought croissants were a nuisance, but now I’ve realised what they’ve contributed to this country and to my breakfast.. I feel terrible’. However it was not all doom and gloom amongst the electorate. Derek, 55, from Barnet said ‘To be honest with you, I think its a good thing that we’re finally taking control of our borders. This will give an opportunity for truly British breakfast-stuffs to become popular, like pancakes.’ It has been reported that the croissants are now being held in a warehouse in Dover in damp, over cramped conditions. The National Vegan Society has called upon the British government to stop this blatant violation of the croissants' rights. However with the Governments' rejection of EU Food Safety and Standard Law, the croissants future looks flaky. The driver of the vehicle has been arrested for questioning. It is expected the croissants will go stale before they are deported to France! Fiona, Sue, Jenny and I stumbled next door to bed while live wires Anne and Jacqui went to the garden and read. Sue tried to watch the disaster which was the England v Iceland game on her phone (England lost 2 -0). Things lost - England's game in the European Championships Times Jenny mentioned the moonwalk - now in the hundreds