From the far

Today we left the rich red soil of La Rioja behind.  I will miss the walks through the beautiful vinyards occasionally interrupted with old Citroen, Fiat or Renault cars with the occupant with their feet poking out of the window as they take a siesta and break from the afternoons vine tending.   The beauty of this part of the world really is amazing and you feel so lucky to often have almost the whole landscape to yourself as you walk through the hills and fields.

I am starting to keep up with Jo and Tris now but as ever Jo is a simple soul and driven by simple things.  Tris just observed that as soon as Jo is hungry/tired/needs the loo/wants to sunbathe she suddenly speeds up the pace and leaves us behind (T follows and I usually amble on at my own pace regardless).  Both Jo and Tris are also relentlessly driven by a need to get ahead of anyone that dares to get on the track ahead of us.  As Jo has already outlined a long fought battle with ´Ze Germans´is luckily now over as we walked on for a few hours in the evening once they had stopped to ensure they were left behind in our dust.  It has become clear that both Jo and T´s competitive streak is in full force here.  Speed is often the name of the game and feel the wrath if you dare to slow them down when there are ´ze Germans´on the horizon. 

Almost a whole day today without blisters.  A small one formed on a blister which was on a blister but only a small one so I am delerious with joy at the thought of a reduced blister count tonight.  Are there any opinions on the pop it /don´t pop it debate?  The general concensus here seems to be pierce it with a needle then thread a piece of cotton through and leave it over night?

I have also discovered a new culinary delight that even beats chorizo sandwiches.  The best breakfast ever is the bocdadillo tortilla Espangnol.  This is basically a spanish omelette sandwich.  It is beyond words and at anywhere between 1.5 – 3 Euros  is great as it is usually huge and lasts me well into lunchtime.

Tonight we are staying in absolute luxury.  It feels like a 5 star hotel and has a lovely swimming pool and sun loungers.  Still in bunk beds but a pretty empty dorm so lovely.  Jo is still struggling with the cacophony of snoring each night as her earplugs don´t seem to be blocking the more persistent snorers. She usually provides a cheery review of the best snoring efforts in the morning with marks out of ten.

We are now less than 50km from Burgos and should arrive there the day after tomorrow.

Better go as the Menu del Peligrinos is calling me.