...and then I cried.

There's no point in telling the good things only. My hippie vegetarian supper was wonderful and the conversation around the table was fascinating. Pau, from Barcelona, was able to answer my questions about Protestants in Spain and talk about the expulsion of the Moors and Jews. He has also written a children's book about Gaudi, someone who interests me. My walk the next day was lovely, rural, sunny with summer temperatures. I planned to walk as far as the next known vegetarian albergue, even tho it was a bit of a push, distancewise. I was exhausted when I got to the tiny hamlet that contained the vegie albergue. The hostess thought no one would show up this day because everyone arrived late in the day. She announced that she would not be cooking. There was no store in the hamlet, the albergue was far less than "basic", and the other pilgrims that arrived when I did had the night before stayed in a bedbug-infested place. So I experienced "failure to cope", cried inconspicuously, and went down the hill to the tiny hotel. The hotel was immaculate, my room had a double bed, my bathroom was furnished in marble and was equipped with shampoo and potpourri. A little piece of heaven, might I say? The walk the next day was described as greuling (there's no spell check on my phone!) but it was very enjoyable in spite of being steep. But that day, yesterday, I couldn't get out of my mopey mood. I thought about quitting the camino and aborting my November travel plans. I was in my "dark night of the soul". Nothing sat right with me. And what was the point of the camino? My accomodation last night was in a large space crammed with bunkbeds... 4 bunkbeds were pushed together so my bed touched another along one side and head-to-toe. The man above me got out of bed approx 10 times (no lie) and heaved around while he was in the bed. This pilgrim was not smiling in the morning. I bolted out and onto the trail in the pitch black and rain. But the day improved. Daylight finally broke. The sun came out eventually. The path led throught amazing scenery. I am at an albergue now with a small capacity. Maybe my darkness is over.