5/17 Two Sticks Short of a Woodpile

It was bound to happen eventually.  Several times I have "almost" lost them, but today I really left my hiking sticks leaning against a bench in Ruitelán.  I was tending to my feet and had taken off a jacket, but by the time I realized I wasn't carrying them, I was several kilometers down the road.  I like to think it was a fitting tribute to the thousands of pilgrims who have sat on that same bench and nursed their blisters.  I am going with Francine's perpective...that it will make someone very happy to find them, maybe one of those women on the tour bus.  I know what did it.  Last night Polly and I had a glass of wine with Annaliese and I asked her if she had left anything behind.  Yes...a hiking pole and a mouthguard.  I jinxed it.

Today's walk was wonderful.  In the morning it was alongside a road, but there were only a handful of cars.  A bubbling stream ran along and honeysuckle vines climbed the trees and filled the air with their fragrance.  

The folks in Spain have a sense of humor...I saw this on my walk today...

The last 3 kilometers of my day was a steep climb to La Faba.  It reminded me of hiking in the Gorge.

We are staying at Albergue La Faba Inglesia San Andres.  Soooo lovely....so peaceful.  The hospitalero, Walli, is from Germany and she was born on the same day...in the same year...that I was.  What are the odds?

There is a yellow rose here that is very fragrant...the most fragrant rose I have found, and I have been smelling a lot of roses!  I also had my nose in blooming mock orange today...delicious!

Today's song is fom the movie The Mission.  Great movie, based on a true story.  If you can get your hands on a copy...watch it.  Gabriel's Oboe makes me want to go out and buy an oboe just so I can learn to play this piece.  It is beautiful...and rich with emotion.. I think it is Morricone's trademark.

Tomorrow I climb O' Cebriero at 1330 m before descending...and ending the day at Tricastela.  Buen Camino!