Pendueles KM 436

Dinner at the Albergue in San Vincente

Ok, so from yesterday´s lesson, not learned so well, I tried hard to go with the flow, but lets face it, sometimes it just not that easy. Noise, lights, heat and people getting up far too early robbed me of precious sleep, and yielded a very grumpy Peregrina this morning. Frederico from Mallorca (the North American equivalent is something like Freddie from Atlantic City),the man who occupied the bunk below me, began futzing about with zippers and plastic bags around 0600. By 0645 he was still getting ready to go. Really - Freddie were you just sent to test me? How long does it take to get yourself dressed and stuff your sleeping bag into your back-pack? To make matters worse, he sat on his bunk for the duration of his torture and it creaked every time he moved or coughed. Eventually I gave up, dragged myself out of my own bunk and snarled my way out of the dorm, only to be met by the smiling faces of our lovely hospitaleros, who had provided us all with great hospitality and such a gracious meal the night before. So much for feeling grumpy.

I think I must have got lost about 4 times today, and every time there was someone there to save me, except the last time. This resulted in about a 6 km detour on a nice trail over a small mountain - no exaggeration. On the upside, I am sure to lose weight, I saw my first bit of wildlife - a deer - and the views from the top were quite nice, even in the mist. For a minute or so, it occured to me that if something happened to me out there, no one would ever know how to find me. Being marginally sensible, I have vowed never to get lost like this again. Uh huh....

The view from way up here

One of my ideas from yesterday (I had others too, but patents will be pending so you will have to wait) paid off today. I haven´t mentioned it because it is a difficult topic and I know how many of you are animal lovers, and I don´t want to put you off Spain. But, here it is; I think about the only thing that I have difficulty with in this country is what appears to be a blatant lack of care for animals, such as dogs and cats, in the rural areas. Dogs are frequently chained up with heavy chains, and often have that mangy look (in the cities, they are all coiffed and wearing their Burberry coats and Armani collars). I would love to carry a pair of bolt cutters with me and release them all, but many of them are viscious and they would probably hurt people - myself included, starve or get hit by cars. So, I bought a bag of dog cookies "Galletas para Perros" from the supermarket and gave one or two to each poor hound I passed along the way today - all from a safe distance. It worked amazingly well; blood curdling growls, curling lips and barred teeth all disappeared when they were hit by my little cookies (I´ve never been a good throw). And, I met several friendly dogs and owners as a reult. I feel safer now as I don´t have a stick with me and if one of these guys ever does get off a chain, the cookies might save my butt. But more importantly, it makes me feel like I am doing something nice.

Thanks for the cookie

And speaking of dogs, I am "dog tired" this afternoon. I have decided - no more Albergues unless they are small, have in-house massage therapists, crisp white sheets and are free of early morning risers. So instead, I found a wonderful pension in Pendueles, the second village I came to after my folly in the woods. I have a room at the beautiful "La Vega" fit for a Peregrina Princessa like me, and it has a wild looking steam shower in the bathroom, which I plan to use shortly. The owner, Mayte is kindly doing my laundry for me, and, has even let me use her laptop computer to post the blog. Lucky me!

One of Mayte's dogs

Mayte and her other dog

Lesson for today - trust the map, its better than your brain!

By the way, is anyone else besides me actually reading this ?