33km, Pernus to Vega de Sariego. 7:30 – 17:15

We set out this morning in the dark again, the beams from our headlamps searching for shells or flechas on the rocks and road. It was another gorgeous morning walking through quaint Medieval villages, pink and orange clouds emerging from the inky darkness, cows lowing, bells ringing, and….Drew and Lisa duking it out on the side of the road. Ah, married life on the Camino!

What’s funny is not that we were fighting, but that we had just spent a good part of yesterday’s walk so annoyingly smug and proud of ourselves that we were able to do this trip without fighting! Aren’t we great, we can live, work, and basically spend every waking minute together, and still like each other. There are so few married couples on the Camino, yet here we are, making it work, aren’t we cool? Uh…not so much…at least today.

We spent a couple of hours not speaking, each walking on separate sides of the path, fuming. Finally, in Villaviciosa (greatest name for a town. Ever.) we both just got tired of the fighting and decided to stop for breakfast. I’m not sure if it was the sunlight, the food, or the rest that made us give up the silliness. For me I think it was the realization that all the fighting did was make me forget everything I had passed or seen in the last hour. What a waste! I didn’t want to do that again. I’m already feeling like my time in Spain is short–I don’t want to miss anything else.

It’s evening now, and we are snug in the albergue. We are the only pilgrims here tonight (we had to ask for the key from the lady at supermarket, who unlocked the door, propped it open with a piece of wood, then turned and left without a word!). We have had our simple dinner (bread, cheese,  jamon iberico for Drew and peas & carrots for me) with a bottle of *extravagant* 5 euro wine. Life is pretty good, made all the better for having made up with my partner and best friend.

Highlights from today:

• Seeing the fog sitting in the valley at sunrise
• Coming around the corner in Villaviciosa to see painters set up all around, sitting in a cafe, or with easels around the plaza
• While we were taking a rest break, an old man pulled up in his truck and insisted on giving us apples.
• Eating Maria crackers dipped in Nutella while sitting on a stone wall by the side of the road
• After a rainshower, seeing a beautiful, perfect rainbow