11 Oct. La Virgen del Camino to San Martin del Camino   17.5 km

On the books we walked 17.5 km. In reality it was probably 21 or 22 km. We woke up early and departed for a days walk that, although not terribly peaceful along a major interstate, was at the least a straight line and easy to follow. So it baffles the imagination that we were very anxious at not finding our customary yellow arrows or Camino clamshell markers and thus kept going back and forth across the highway over footbridges and under tunnels until we found ourselves going around the two easy first towns in which we had hoped to stop for coffee. At the second we took a detour and walked the road into the town only to find the only cafe to be closed. The blessing was that we learned it was not the town we thought it was; we were off course. Had we continued we would have had to go miles out of our way to get back on track. 

Naturally, the few people up and about were gracious to help us find our way back which seemed circuitous and backwards. As we entered the town back on the path, we realized that very late in the morning we were at the point we should have been by 9 with the bulk of the walking ahead of us. How discouraging. After our coffee and breakfast we got back out there slogging along with our heads hanging low. It was a straight path along an interstate, why did we not stay the course???

And yet, despite our calculations—yes, using the map—we found ourselves walking directly into the next big town. We did NOT have the bulk of the journey ahead of us. It was somehow behind us!  And along the last part we saw a sign “Santiago 326.”  We officially have less than 200 miles to go. Of course, straight ahead are the mountains, but let's not think of that right now!

Buen Camino