I think it is amazing how quickly on the Camino one starts to really appreciate the small things in life! Real towels and sheets were coming out top of the poll for us (and Babyliss Big Hair was not far behind for Jenny and I - and Fiona as well although she wouldn't admit it!!) but also you really appreciate privacy and only sharing a shower between 4 people. That is why I believe this sort of travel is so good for people - it 'grounds' you in a world where 'things' and the acquisition of them without question seem to have become most people's raisin d'etre! The Camino gives you an opportunity to step back from it all and reflect. By our standards this hotel was uber posh and we breakfasted on croissants, toast, melon and juice. The proprietress was really friendly and had the courtesy not to do her ironing and tell us to shhh while we ate! It was a chilly start but shortly after leaving the town we were walking through beautiful farmland and vineyards, struck by the vibrant reds and blues of the poppies and cornflowers and the fields of golden wheat. Isn't nature luvverly! Our fleeces stayed on longer than usual and didn't even come off at our first coffee stop in Azofra where I helped myself to Jacqui's tissues from her backpack - such is communal living and walking! The walk after coffee was long and I think we were all getting a bit worried that we hadn't thought to buy lunch at the first stop. We were starting to get hungry. On the Camino you basically sleep, walk, eat, drink - not necessarily in that order but all are repeated daily and so food, the prospect of it, the eating of it, becomes really important and like the sheets and towels you relish it! So the prospect of maybe having to walk a long time without food is grim! And it was a Sunday!! Thinking back to our Camino last year when we couldn't find anything open on a Sunday didn't help! You learn to not get too excited when you see a sign for a bar or cafe as the disappointment when you find it closed is unbearable! But our Camino guardian angel had not deserted us and we eventually found an open bar in Alesanco and devoured large bocadillos and CHIPS!!!!! Jenny even treated herself to a sausage (insert more Frankie Howard innuendos here!) We heard that Charlie and Kate had successfully done the 3 peaks challenge, which put out little walk into some sort of context but, for some of us, our Camino was a big challenge on a number of levels! Truly stuffed but happy we upped sticks (literally as the definition of that is 'to take all the things that you own and go and live in a different place' AND we really did have sticks! )I digress! A little further along the way we saw the Brazilian artist peregrino getting the bus!! So that's how he managed to always be ahead of us! As we had walked for a long time before stopping for lunch we had less distance to go before reaching Santa Domingo which was a plus. This was the only night where Anne could not book us any accommodation but the guide books indicated there were plenty of beds there. On entering the little town we came upon a hostel ran by nuns which we feared might involve an austere, religious evening (especially as it was a Sunday!) It was apparent that none of us were really up for that even our honorary nun in residence, Fiona or should I say ESPECIALLY Fiona! So we went a little further to find the municipal hostel. 7 euros a night which included a particularly unfriendly welcome on reception! It was a nice hostel for the price. There were smallish dorms for about 20 people with the dreaded metal bunks, basic showers, a kitchen and a big communal living and eating area. We were joined in our dorm by, among others, a man with a rather large package (and I am not talking UBS here) and a rather beautiful young pilgrim who emptied the whole contents of her backpack on the floor and left them there all night for us all to trip over. She did look stunning in her evening maxi dress apparently - it must have been at the bottom of her rucksack! We had a good old 'mothers' moan about messy young people as you can imagine! I went to do a bit of blog writing in the common area and got chatting to a lovely (albeit a bit wacky) German girl who had hurt her ankle and couldn't walk - she told me that in the German Camino guide book it had said of the museum in Santa Domingo to only go there if you are drunk or with a friend to support you. Hilarious but sadly we didn't experience this particular bit of Spanish culture. She also said she was looking for a donkey to take her to Santiago de Compostella as she didn't want to give up. These Germans are certainly dogged! You can see why they do so well. She thought Brexit was mad too but said similar movements were growing in Germany. And now for a little bit of a story about Santa Domingo! Santo Domingo de la Calzada is most famous for the legend of the c*** that crowed again. There, as is usually the case, are several version of this legend. A couple from Cologne were travelling to Santiago de Compostela on a pilgrimage with their son, Hugonell. Apparently, the innkeeper’s daughter took a fancy to him and he virtuously resisted her advances. She took a silver goblet and hid it in his possessions, in the morning she denounced him as a thief and he was hanged. When his parent were preparing to depart, they heard his voice telling him that he was still alive; St Dominic was holding him up by his feet. The parent ran off to tell the magistrate the story of laughed and said their son was no more alive than the c*** and hen on his plate. At that, the birds grew feathers, jumped off the plate and fluttered around the room proving that their son was innocent. There are various versions of this legend in other routes to Santiago at Utrecht, in Toulouse, and Barcelos. Interesting huh? Anyway, as you will have gathered, girls on Camino need to eat of an evening and also are gagging for a drink from around 6pm!! So we went off and found a pretty little restaurant offering the usual pilgrims menu, sat down and waited to be served. The waitress, who was probably the proprietress, dressed in black with bright red lipstick, came to our table and in a very assertive manner with not a hint of a smile reeled off the menu: " we havva the beef, we have the feeeesh, we havva the pork chop, we havva the chicken, we havva the eggs and ham" you get the jist! We asked no questions and ordered. But I wanted white wine for which we were charged 15 euros!!! And then she only gave us 1 bottle of red when we should have had 3! But clearly we were all far too scared of her and laughed our way through the, frankly average, meal which ended in some 'mums go to Iceland' deserts. We left no tip and even Fiona seemed OK about that! We wandered off to a bar for a nightcap and Francis rang to tell me about how much harder and hotter and prettier his Camino was than ours so far -we laughed! Nice to share with a group of people who know him so well! Back to base and pyjamas on as it was lights out at 10! although I realised I had left my pyjama bottoms in Najera! Sleep time for tired girls Things lost - my pyjama bottoms Times Jenny mentioned the moonwalk - 43.75