May 7 Wednesday - Aldeanueva del Camino It's Been An Easy Day

May 7 Wednesday - Aldeanueva del Camino 

It's Been An Easy Day

 There were no fires last night, no tornadoes, and no earthquakes! A very uneventful night. Margarite and I had soup for dinner on the Plaza Mayor, chatted came back to the albergue, she wrote post cards and I wrote my blog, chatted some more. It so nice to speak English. 

We slept in this morning, because our bus doesn't leave until 11am. I woke up at 7:30 and went downstairs to get some café from the machine. Again the owner tells me to come in and have a café. I do and she offers me breakfast pastries and fruit. I accept a banana. Then we chatted, while I drank my café and she ironed, about our children and grandchildren. She has two sons and a daughter and two grandsons. 

After our little chat, I went back upstairs and stretched, iced my knee, and got ready to go. We walked to the bus station, asking directions from somebody about every five minutes. I don't know why I can't retain directions for more than five minutes or one "gire a la derecha" or "gire a la izquierda." It's maddening. I understand the directions, I just can't remember them. Lucky for me the Spanish people always seem happy to help this lost puppy. Today we didn't even ask and this Spaniard asks us, in perfect English, "Are you looking for something?" He gave us directions in English and I still only remembered them for five minutes. The Spanish seem to navigate by landmarks, rather than street names. The say, "Go past the fountain and turn right then go straight to the rondo and turn left, etc"

We got to the bus station. We were going to Galisteo. To do that by bus we had to go to Plascencia and then get off that bus and catch another bus going backwards (not the bus, us) to Galisteo. At some point I said I think I'll just stay in Plasencia or even go on to Aldeanuevo Del Camino, because if I go back to Galisteo, I'll have to walk a total of 30 km just to get back to Plasencia and then 27km (17 mi) in one day to Aldeanuevo Del Camino. It didn't seem like a good idea with a hinky knee. So instead of getting a ticket to Galisteo, I got one to Aldeanuevo.  Now that I'm looking at it, I skipped over 100km (60 mi) on the bus. I just got and overwhelming urge to take the bus back to Cáceres, but my knee piped up and said, no you don't dare! lol so I' going to walk a short one 10km (6 mi) tomorrow if my knee feels ok in the morning. 

I ran into Gerald Zegers, one of the people I know from Facebook and he and I are both staying at La Casa de mi Abuela albergue in Aldeanuevo (he's in the boys room though and I'm in the girls room.) we had lunch together. Gerad is a Dutch man who lives in France. It was very nice having lunch with him.  My roommate tonight is An young Irish women named Iris. This albergue, like the one in Cáceres, is very nice with sheets and blankets and lovely showers. 

So I'll be saying good night from Aldeanuevo del Camino. 

May 6 Tuesday in Cáceres - Surprise!

May 6 Tuesday in Cáceres - Surprise!

This technically qualifies as being on the 6th of May because it happened after midnight. More specifically, around 2am. I was sleeping soundly and I woke up sniffing, smelling something. It smelled vaguely electrical, so I unplugged the charger to my phone and went back to sleep. Shortly after this I am awakened by someone banging on the door and I think I'm dreaming about the Tornado warnings. But the person knocking is speaking Spanish and I think that is strange. Then I'm awake enough to remember I am in Spain and I hear, "fuego" and "abajo" and "rapidamente." And now I'm awake, I'm thinking "oh ..." Well never mind what I was thinking. I grab Mr Burple and my iPhone, and run out oft room into a blanket of smoke. I ran down the stairs and out the front door. I kept thinking "how can there be a fire? There are no firemen or fire trucks." I still don't know the answer to that question. They came after the smoke cleared and checked every thing out. Maybe no one thought to call them earlier. 

It turned out it was a fire in a couch and a couch swing on the back porch garden area. They think it was caused by a person smoking out there and not getting the cigarette out or leaving a spark. Who knows? So this morning I went down stairs to get a bottle of water and a cup of coffee from the machine. I'm in the process of doing this and the owner says "no, no, come in the dining room for a cup of coffee." I figure she's trying to make up for our exciting night. She offers me tostado and a pastry. I eat the pastry and get my coffee. Then she tells me she had put my clothes on the rack the dry last evening and some of my clothes got burnt. Then she took me out to show me the damage. There was one pair of my hiking shorts looking like a modern sculpture about the demise of mankind or some, and one of my LuLuLemon tank tops looking like Dali's melting clock. Sad. I think she was afraid I was going to go ballistic or something, being American. lol. My thought was actually more like, "Oh well." If I could have found the cigarette smoker, I may have wanted to pummel him soundly. ( Sorry John hehehe). She said to go buy new ones and they would pay for them. I'm thinking, "I doubt very much I can find LuLu in the middle of Spain." But, what came out of my mouth was, "where could I find a store with sports clothes like these." She told where there was a a store just on the other side of Plaza Mayor. So I'm like ok and go back to my room to mourn my crispy clothes. 

Once it was time for the shops to open I ask her if there was a tienda or mercado where I might be able to buy frozen peas. She says, go to the end of this street and turn left. I did that exact thing and found no store. So I decided to go to the tourist office and ask for directions to a store. She tells me there is one past where I would go to the sporting goods store, down to the small plaza, then up the street to the right of the Gran Theatre. On that street on the right hand side of the street is a building and the store is on the second floor. I thought that was kind of odd, but oh well. 

I proceed to the sporting goods store. Actually it turned out there were two within a block of each other. I began a whole new experience of shopping for clothes in Spanish, asking if I can try them on, asking if they have it in a different size, and explaining what I want, or what I don't want. I finally got a pair of pants in one store and a shirt in another. They didn't have any light weight sports tank tops, so I just got a tee shirt. 

The I went to look for the two story building. I got to the Gran Theatre and found the street. I looked on the right hand side of the street and there were two buildings, neither one has any sign or other indication that it is a store or super market. One doesn't have an open entrance, the other one does. Off I go into it's door. Sure enough there's a staircase, and sure enough at the top of the staircase there is a bona fide  supermercado! Jaw dropping shock. I get my stuff, including double stuffed Oreos and head back to the albergue with my loot. I give the owner my receipts and ask if insurance will reimburse them. She indicates that she thinks so. She gives me the money and rounds up about eight or nine euros. 

After all the grieving and shopping I need a nap. When I wake up, I have a new roomie, Margarite from South Africa. She speaks English! So were chatting and she says she's taking a bus tomorrow to a couple of stops up the road, because she is a day behind. She is meeting someone in Salamanca on a certain date. So I tell her I go with her to the tourist office to find out about the buses and maybe I'll take the bus too. My knee is better, but not good enough to walk again yet. So I figure taking the bus will give me another day of rest and still going forward. 

So we go to the tourist office for bus info, have a café on the Plaza Mayor, them go to the sporting goods stores for to look for some pants and a shirt. She didn't find anything. We went back to the Plaza Mayor and had something to eat. Came back to the albergue and now it's time for sleep. 

May 5 Monday - A Time To Rest

May 5 Monday - A Time To Rest

I awoke at 5am for no reason at all. I tried to go back to sleep and couldn't, so I decided I could go out to the front area and stretch. I did that and then my two Austrian friends Milford and Rudolph (Rudy) got up and got packed up. It was still dark , but we knew there was a Repsol station up on the carretera (highway) that had a bar that opened at 6am, so they headed over there and I followed a few moments later. I don't understand how they left first. I always get my pack ready the night before with water bladder filled, clothes all packed up (I sleep in the clothes I walk in the next day,) everything in except my sleep sack and toothbrush. And yet every time people who get up much after me are out the door before me. Never fails. 

By the time I got to the café, they were almost done, and ready to move out. I had my café con leche and left shortly after them. It was a beautiful morning with blue skies, crisp air and the sun arising. The landscape was beautiful. Some trees other than scrub oak. And fields full of soft wheat and wild flowers. I have to admit I am not a botanist. The only trees I know I could identify are palm trees and eucalyptus trees, and now maybe scrub oak trees. The only flowers I know I could identify are lilies, roses and daisies. So sad. Though I didn't know much about beach critters before two years ago and now I've learned a lot. 

We got to Valdesalor about 9:30. I had originally planned to stop there for the night and walk to Cáceres the next day, then rest until my knee felt better. It was only 6.8 miles, it was still so early, and my knee felt pretty good, so I decided to go on to Cáceres  it was another 6.8 miles of uninteresting pre city landscaped filled with lots of ups and downs and rocky surfaces.  Not a pretty walk at all. In fact when we stopped just outside Valdesalor for a cold drink, we saw three Japanese females getting off a bus with back packs and beginning to walk. While enjoying our cold drinks we pondered why, of you were going to take a bus to a starting point, you would pick Valdesalor. Why not just go straight to Cáceres? One if the guys posited that maybe they had heard it was a beautiful walk. As I walked it I thought, if they thought this was going to be a beautiful walk, they must have been sorely disappointed. 

I saw two of the Japanese later on the trail. I wondered what happened to the third. There were two young women, probably late teens or early twenties. They were carrying packs bigger than most men carry. Unless they were loaded with feathers, they must have weighed thirty pounds. And these young women were not large. When I saw them they had been resting and one of them had her pack on a rock and was trying to put it on and get up. I guess she was eventually successful. 

I ended up meeting up with my pals on the outskirts of the city where there was a fork in the road and they had been pondering which way to go. Milford had already headed down the path to the right, which was the path I thought was indicated by the yellow arrow. Being the Queen of Lost, I'm never really sure of my conclusions on these directional things. I think my brain lacks some orientation device. I swear I could get lost in my own bathroom. I never know which way is North. Anyway, we all go right and eventually we see on of the cement directional blocks and know we are on the right path. As we get into the city, we follow the yellow arrows which lead is directly to a private hostal, where we do not want to be. During this time we encounter and older Japanese woman, probably in her forties, we surmise she is the third member of the group that got off the bus. Very clever, aren't we?  She points at a map and says albergue. We say yes we are looking for it. It is clear she speaks no Spanish and very little English. I can't imagine the courage it would take to do the Camino Frances, never mind the Via de la Plata not speaking either English or Spanish. As a woman reporter said to me in China when I went there during the SARS commotion, "you are very brave." I responded, "or very foolish." I did get lost twice when I was wandering without the tour guide and it was a little scary. It didn't matter if there were street signs, because I couldn't have read them. A map would obviously be useless. I found my way both times, but for the most part I had a guide. 

We started asking directions, and because Rudolph understand what people meant by carretera, we wandered for awhile. We were all at that point in the day when we just wanted to get to where we are staying, drop our packs, and take off our boots. By the way it was in the mid 90s by this time. Eventually he understood they just meant the busy stree and we were to follow it to the old part of the town. So we proceed with our Japanese pilgrim in tow. I don't know if the directions we were given included the information, that at the end of the carretera, the old town was at the top of a big ass hill and the climb was about 50 degrees. Yikes. But we got up. There haven't been any arrows or markers of any kind, anywhere since the last bogus arrow that pointed to the front door of the Hostal. Rudolph and Milford are moving so fast, there is no time to check maps. We continue to ask direction and finally one an leads us to the Plaza Mayor. The albergue is not far from there. It still takes us a little more meandering and requests for directions to find the albergue. 

We arrive and are getting our rooms and the Japanese woman explains she has two companions that are coming. I translate that into Spanish to the owner. Some where during this exchange she realizes she is in the wrong albergue. She is supposed to meet her two companions at the municipal albergue. She leaves to find it. I have no idea how she was going to do that, but she had a large iPad open and it said, "Municipal Albergue" on the screen. So maybe she had Google Maps. 

We checked in and got our beds. The owner said I could stay two nights, no problem. The place is very nice and even has a nice garden patio in the back with a couch where I iced my knee. I went to the Plaza Mayor and had some yummy food, a Acadia and shrimp on a bed of lettuce and baked meet in a tomato sauce. Then I went to the pharmacy to get the bandages Antonio used last year to wrap my knee. They didn't have the stretchy one. I went to another pharmacy and they didn't have it either. They directed me to the ortho store. They didn't have it either, but they had KT tape which is stretchy so it might work. I don't understand. This tape was easy to find on the Camino Frances two year ago. I don't know if it is passage of time or change of location that makes it unavailable. He also had one of those bands that go below the knee, so I got one of those and I wearing it. 

ThenI went home, read and took a shower and went to bed. The bummer about taking a rest day for a leg or knee injury is that you can't really have optimal healing if you all around sight seeing. 

May 4 Sunday - A Day of Splendor

May 4 Sunday - A Day of Splendor

My knee felt ok again this morning, so I got up and packed. I was going to buy a café from the machine and eat the banana and yogurt I bought yesterday before taking off. But Mr Grumpy, the Hospitalero had other plans. He had told us that the doors would not open until 7am. Many albergues do this to keep people from getting up at 4am and waking everyone else up. Then they usually say everyone needs to be out by 8 or 8:30. Well, he knocked on all our doors and basically said, I'm opening the doors get up and get out. No where on the sheet of instructions did it say any thing about leaving by 7am. I came out with my pack to get my boots and he's telling us he needs to start cleaning so we need to get out. He put the mop and bucket in front of the women's restroom and went in, so I couldn't even pee before leaving. He was far and away the rudest Hospitalero I have ever encountered. He says he had been doing it for twenty years. I think maybe he has been doing it too long. 

So I tucked my yogurt in my pack, went outside and ate my banana, and went across the street for a café. The rest of the day was wonderful. At café I met my roommate from last night. I woke in the middle of the night and she and her sleeping bag and pack were gone. Turns out she went out and slept on the couch because she saw a bug on the wall and is a little bit afraid of bed bugs. He boy friend said it's more like paranoid. I saw them a couple of times today. He has to be back in Austria by May 28 for an English exam, so they're going pretty fast. I probably won't see them again. 

I left and just had one visual surprise after another. The first was a foal and its mother. It was the first foal I have seen. I've seen calves, kids, piglets, and lambs; this was the first foal. Then moving along I saw some great storks up on a building and one of them was balancing on a little ball. Across from those storks was a mother stork in a nest with three little babies, baby storks, not baby humans ready for delivery to expectant parents. Further along the trail I saw two birds trying to have sex on a overhead electric line. Love can sometimes be difficult. ;)  Then toward the end of today's walk I realized there were a bunch of sleeping eating and napping on the trail. The Shepard says there were 143 sheep I didn't bother counting to check his numbers. There were several standing water encounters but none of them too bad until I came to one O could not cross without wading or swimming. I looked to my right and someone had thoughtfully and conveniently placed an old Roman (or some other epoch) bridge for me to walk across. What a pleasant surprise. In between these visual treats were carpets of wild flowers, strangely twisted oaks, old rock fences  and all manner of interesting sights. All in all a great day. 

Again my knee was a little trooper. It does ok and hurts at the end of the day. So then I ice it, rest it, and use the voltarén. For the last two days that has allowed me to continue another day. Right now I'm sitting in the albergue and outside some young people are practicing trumpet and drums. They need a lot, I mean a lot of practice. lol

The two guys I thought were Germans are actually from Austria. Close but no cigar Nancy. They both speak pretty good English. They were going to do two stages today, but decided to stop where I stopped. They came by when John and I were face timing, so I introduced them. They liked John's beard. We had a long talk about why we stared doing the Camino and what was different between this one and the Frances. 

I thought the other three Austrians (two men and a woman) were not in the albergue last night must have been there because they were in the bar this morning when I had my café. They are here tonight too. So there are six of us.   

Well, I guess that's all for today. 

May 3 Saturday - Not In The Mood

May 3 Saturday - Not In The Mood 

I'm not in the mood to write. I'm cranky and feeling sorry for myself. I went to the Pilgrim's Mass tonight and spent the whole mass praying for knowledge of God's will for me and the power to carry it out. This seems like déjà vu all over again. I had knee problems on my first Camino and had to rest for four or five days. Then some minor miracles occurred and I finished the Camino. I need to remember that. And my mantra that year was, "If it be your will . . ." So if it is not better by morning, I'll rest here or take a cab. Though I'm not sure I could rest here, because I think the Hospitalero is mad at me. I was four minutes late to dinner and the Hospitalero chastised me and he's been cold ever since. 

I was late because I'd finally gotten clear directions to the market and information that it was still open from another pilgrim. I had tried to find it earlier in the day so I could get some frozen peas to use on my knee. I had gotten some ice earlier from the bar that I thought I'd be able to use the rest of the day. Then I learned that the freezer in the albergue didn't work. So I went out looking for the market, walked all over town, asked directions a couple of times. When mass was over and I talked to the pilgrim who had just come from there, I tried to hurry to the market before dinner. I missed the mark by four minutes. Oh well. 

The wall today was lovely. The two German guys I have been trailing the past few days were with me again today. They would pass me, they'd stop to rest and the I would pass them. Over and over. This also happened today with three Austrians, two men and a woman. The woman was one of my roommates last night. One of the guys wore a leather hat like Indiana Jones. He was quite the gentleman and offered me his hand to help me over a divide in the ground. Then he offered to take my picture for me. Later when I was resting and they passed, he asked me again if I wanted my picture taken. They are not here tonight, so I think they went on to the next pueblo. 

The walk today was spectacular. My knee was a good little soldier, a real team player. I cheered him on as we went. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and there was a nice cool breeze to keep it from being really hot. I heard cuckoo birds, as well as other more conventional chirping birds. At one point we were just walking through a heard of cattle, cows and calves, no fence between us and them. 

People have been really nice asking about my knee. And my Spanish is improving rapidly. I just pray my poor little knee feels better tomorrow again and we can make it a little further down the road. I also look kind of funny because my tan is all weird. It's like my right arm is tan from where the tee shirt sleeve ends and them below the wrist there's a white band of where the strap from my poles is and half of my right leg is tan below my shorts line. Weird!

May 2 Saturday - Revival

May 2 Saturday - Revival

I got up early this morning to walk as much as possible before the day turned hot. And to be perfectly honest I was worried about getting a bed, something I haven't done so far and didn't do much on two times on the Camino Frances. But the albergue was pretty full last night in Meridas. I thought maybe a lot of people start there. People start and stop in different places. A lot of Europeans do two weeks a year, and then come back and pick up where they left off. 

I left town about 7am, after it got light and walked through the city until I came to these tall Roman arches that had the morning sun coming through them cast a pink glow in the arches. Of course they had stork nests on top with storks in them. It was to be a day of birds, but I didn't know that then. I had forgotten how nice it is to wAlk in the early morning. It had been so cold when I first started this Camino, I didn't want to get out until the sun had been up an hour or two. 

I continued out of town toward what was referred to as a reservoir. I had visions of a large round tank. For about an hour we walked on a running/biking path. I was the last one today, I was in the pack, somewhere toward the end. So I kept thinking about the bed thing and when it started I told my head to go back to sleep and said my mantra, "I'll get where I supposed to be, when I am supposed to be there. Along the way we went through this park/preserve that ran along the remains of a Roman city. It was really neat to look at as I walked. When we got to the reservoir, I was astounded. It was a huge lake with restaurants, houses and water sports along it's edge. 

The Camino led us on a path around the lake and then we were directed off that path onto a road. The problem was, there were two roads. One was the carretera to Aljucén where I was headed, and one was what looked like an old road seldom used. So I took that one because it seemed more Camino like. I walked from some time and didn't see a yellow arrow. But, I didn't care because the landscape was so captivating. Flocks of beautiful white birds that I think were egrets or cranes flew over my head from time to time. For some reason, I didn't see the pilgrims I had seen walking until the reservoir. 

Bobby McFerrin was singing, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" in my ear. I still hadn't seen any arrows so I checked Google maps. It said I was headed in the right direction, though I couldn't tell from Maps if I was on the right road. But I figured if I was going in the right direction I'd be close. Then I saw an arrow. I think my favorite arrows are ones you see at times like this. It doesn't matter what they look like, they are lovely. 

I thought the other pilgrims must have taken the carretera and would get to the albergue before me, but I decided I didn't care because I would not have wanted to miss the beauty of all I was seeing. I was busy taking pictures and had my earbuds in my ears listening to tunes. I only saw three cars the whole time I was on this old road. At one point I was taking a picture of some cows and I felt something bump my back. Yikes! I turned quickly to discover it was a nice man in a car trying to squeeze by without disturbing me or honking his horn and startling me. His window was down, we mutually apologized. 

Then the Camino went off the road onto a trail. It was a great hike. At one point I sat down in the middle of the trail and munched on some potato chips. I bought the bag four days ago for a Euro and they are still good. Provides salt. While I'm sitting there, two of the guys I hadn't seen since the lake came by, commenting that I had found a nice place to rest. It's not the Camino Frances where you run into bars or cafes every three to five miles. There is no place to even sit down out here, except on the road. So there I sat. 

I'm starting to get tired, my knee is squawking and I see a village. Oh good, I thought, I'm at my stopping place. There was even a church. I could see the steeple. But as these two chaps and I arrived, upon inquiry, a man told us there was no bar or albergue there. We were not to Aljucén yet. It was another 3 km, or about 45 minutes of walking, away. Damn, O hate when that happens. 

So I finally get to Aljucén, go the wrong way, have to walk back up a steep hill to the albergue, and it is closed. It won't open until 12:30 pm, and I was the first one there. lol I guess I should have listened to Bobby all along. So I went down about half a block to a bar and drank and Aquarios while I waited. The nice lady working at the bar gave me an ice pack for my knee. I used it and then went to give it back and she told me to take it with me for later. Wow! 

About 12 I returned to the albergue and I could tell the other two guys had arrived. The hospitalera came and showed me the beds. I actually got the one that was a single bed, not a bunk bed. So I went to the bar the hospitalera recommended and got the menu del día. I asked the guy working there and he said the Ensalada Rusa was homemade and the Pork stewed in tomatoes was good. It was yummy. I went back to the albergue, took a shower, and washed all my laundry.  It is night and the albergue is full, even the extra beds that were filled by two bike riders at about 7pm, but only four of us were together last night. I think people do two stages at a time sometimes, so the cast of characters changes. 

My knee seems to be irritated. So interesting. It happened the first Camino. Didn't happen the second. And is happening again on the third. If it gets worse, I'm going to have to stop for a few days and rest it. 

May 1 Thursday - May Day! May Day!

May 1 Thursday - May Day! May Day!

Well two days without getting lost are the record. Today I got up, walked to the restaurant for breakfast (a cup of café con leche a tostada,) the of the restaurant and the albergue gave me a little going away present (red note pad,) and I left. I found the Camino and started walking. As I'm walking along this red car stopped and the driver asked me if I was going to Santiago. I told him I was and he informed me I was going the wrong way. But I told him I had seen a directional  marker. He told me again I was going the wrong and explained where the right way went. I told him thanks and turned to retrace my steps, somewhat dejected. He said he would give me a ride back to the Camino. 

It turns out he was in the bar this morning and is neighbors with Mozzie. He also told me Mozzie is a gypsy, but his wife is a normal person. He told me he is from Spain, but has been working in Holland and that is why he speaks American. He says he doesn't speak English, and he is correct. His pronunciation is American he says his wife is from the village I am leaving and they have a baby, so he comes back more often. He says his name is Jose and that there are a lot of Joses in Spain. I told him I had a friend named Jose, but he is Mexican. We came to the place where the Camino is, and there is a marker there, and it is not pointing in the direction I went. Sigh. But if I hadn't gotten lost I wouldn't have met Jose. I thanked him for helping me and he said, if he's in America and needs help, someone will help him. I hope so too.  

So I start out again. Today's walk is somewhat like yesterday's, except there are cars instead of vineyards. Then was more standing water/mud bank climbing/cutting paths through foliage as tall as I am adventure. But to be honest, it was all kind of mind numbing and tiring. While I was walking, I was wondering what my lessons could be. So far I don't have an inkling. Then my mind pops up and says, "Maybe the lesson is you don't have to do this to learn your lessons." Whoa, where did that come from? The last two days have been disappointing visually, but my human encounters have been outstanding. 

I get into Merída and I read the page from the guide book and it says, in the directions on how to find the Albergue, cross the Roman bridge and as you come into town turn left. I'm reading this while standing under and in the shade of a huge brick bridge with arches, and I think, "Oh no, they've changed the route. I supposed to be on top of the bridge. I turn around and I see these bricks running up the hill a couple of stories, that are part of the bridge an they could take me up to the railing and - then a moment sanity struck me. I am not Batman, or even Robin. A Tilty person Climbing two stories on steep narrow bricks with a back pack is not only not a good idea times ten, it's pure insanity. Ok, so there's more than one way to skin a cat. So I decide to walk around and back to find out where the bridge starts. So I walk for awhile and finally see where the cars get on the bridge, and then I realize there are not very man Old Roman Bridges that carry high speed traffic. Then I look at the bridge and I think that the bricks look very modern and are all even and the same shape and size. Then I remember there was an old Roman bridge in Salamanca for pedestrian traffic, but they built a near bridge for cars. And the light goes on (I'm really a clever girl you know lol) I determine I should just follow the arrows and I would probably find the Roman bridge. I did and I did. And a little while later I found the albergue   

I get to the albergue and the door is locked and there is a number posted on the door to call the hospitalera. So I knock on the door because I figure there are probably some pilgrims inside and I can at least set my stuff down. So the German with the goofy smile opens it and tells the hospitalera is not there and I need to call the number. I agree with him set my stuff down and starts telling me the number "no functiona," that I need to dial a +34. I tell I don't think so because I have a Spanish phone. He continued to insist it won't work. I finally tell him I'm just going to try it. He throws up his hands in exasperation. I dial, she answers and says she will be here in a minute. The German comes back and I explain again about country codes, and now he believes me. Only he notices my phones key pad doesn't have a "+" so how could I dial another country. I don't know. I'll have to find out, but not today. 

So the hospitalera comes, she's as personable as a DMV clerk. But I get a bed, pay her, she gives me a flyer for a restaurant, and leaves. I haven't seen her since and it is 8pm. The exterior of the albergue is cool looking (I'm including a picture) and it is right on the river that flows under all the bridges I've been talking about. The albergue is a basic albergue, but I have a bed, I took a shower, I ate at the restaurant on the flyer she gave me, and the food was good. There are more pilgrim's here than I have seen up to now. I guess some people start in Merida. Merida is a City, a tourist city. After being in the country walking through wide open spaces it is a bit jarring. So I've been hanging at the albergue. I will sleep soon and start again tomorrow. Praying for no standing water mud banks vegetation paths. lol.