Sept 29 Santo Domingo to Villamayor about 18 km

Actually, we walked more than 18 km if you count the steps we took walking out of town in the dark with a fellow pilgrim, none of whom saw the sign to the path. We just keep walking along the highway until some kind stranger pulled over and indicated in gestures that we should go back and turn right. A discouraging yet blessed start to the day. 

Our trek was punctuated with lovely towns and we stopped short of the guidebook suggestion, having looked ahead and deciding to break up the next few days to make it a bit easier on ourselves. There is no need for us to rush this. 

The hills are getting easier and hopefully that's a sign that we're getting a bit stronger. 

On the advice of a fellow pilgrim we have found a lovely albergue outside of town. The hostess is in the kitchen cooking our dinner with vegetables she picked out of her garden. It smells delicious. We haven't even been motivated to go into town, it's so lovely here. 

We were famished when we arrived and dinner isn't until 7 so we asked for a sandwich and for a whopping 3 euros we got a loaf of bread filled with jamon iberico drizzled with olive oil. What a wonderful treat. 

Our day has been filled with the generosity and help from others, not the least was our brief walk and conversation with a man from Atlanta who offered us some very helpful advice on the best way to use our trekking poles. Everyone seems to be looking out for one another on the Camino.