less than 250 km to go!

Thank you, Asturias, for dirt roads and ¨real¨trails! Less asphalt and fewer cars. However, the rain yesterday has turned some areas into LAKES of mud, which leaves me dreaming of some nice dry pavement. The rain did something else interesting too: it made one of my toenails fall off! I guess I could have seen it coming; I got a blister under the nail last week or so, and once the blister subsided there was a funny space between nail and toe... Yesterday´s ceaseless downpour softened it up and soaked it right off. A very odd sensation, no pain, kind of like losing a tooth actually. It hung on by a thread that I had to snip. I´m curious to see whether it will ever grow back. For now it´s slathered in antibiotic and wrapped up in moleskine and waterproof tape.

On to less-disgusting items. I stayed last night at maybe the best albergue I´ve yet encountered, in Bodenaya. Run out of a private household by guys who are ¨amigos del camino.¨ After a long day of wind and rain, arriving to a warm house with wood floors and clothelines and a shower and people offering you a glass of wine--it´s like some sort of dream. And the best part, perhaps: only three other peregrinos, so super-quiet sleeping, practically private quarters. But above all, such a warm, welcoming, friendly place. I´ll have to write a full post on albergues at some point; they´re a source of endless fascination for me. I should note, however, that I´ve only spent roughly one third of my nights in albergues. The rest of the time I am either in my tent, or under the portico of a church or chapel (possibly my favorite way to sleep, especially on muggy nights, when those cold stone floors feel so nice--plus, you can sit and watch the stars come out).

Besides the rural-ness and the incredibly kind and amiable people, the other lovely thing about the Primitivo (as opposed to continuing along the coast) is the influx of new pilgrims. Many start their journey in Oviedo, and at this stage many folks are still fresh and excited, talkative and full of plans, not yet battered and weary. The energy is so different, and I suspect it´s doing me a lot of good. Also, the vast majority of folks I´ve met on the Primitivo are from Spain, so practically all my conversation has been in Spanish. (When there is a more international mix, conversations tend to default into English or fracture according to nationality.) Apparently, an American who can actually speak a foreign language is practically unheard-of here; I´m like some very rare species that no one has ever encountered. I get a lot of surpirsed looks and kudos. So, mil gracias to all my former Spanish teachers; I doubt I´d be here without y'all!