Day 2

Today’s 20.5 miles and 90 floors were done in perfecto Spanish fall weather, sublime rural scenery all around. Much of the trail was downhill on rocky uneven terrain though so I didn’t see all of it — I was too busy concentrating on not plowing into the pair of Irish grandmas (or similar) in front of me and sending everybody after them down the mountain like pilgrim dominoes.

In other news, I saw my first real life jai lai court, something that was just a vocab word in Spanish class my whole life. We also passed the hotel where Hemingway banged out The Sun Also Rises. I’m not a fan but good for him. I found a decrepit mansion I will buy and turn into my retirement home, conveniently located next to a wine and snack bar. Biggest petunias I’ve ever seen. Paella for lunch. Fields and fields of grass that is so long that it comes up to your chin. My room tonight has a balcony and I have 2 blisters. Strategy regarding those little bastards yet to come.