To start off today, I should finish up last night. ;) The hostaleros in the Municipal Albergue in Hontanas deserve a special shout out for their smiles, cooking, sense of humor and all over hospitality. We shared a great dinner of vegetarian paella, salad, pork and fruit.
After dinner we were invited up to a viewpoint above town (not too far up, haha!) and a secret cave bodega. The sunset views were incredible and we sampled some local wine.
Once again today I started out with the stars still out. The sun rose over the fields and I soon passed the old monastery/hospital of San Antón. 
It was time for second breakfast in Castrojeriz, a very scenic town with lots of buildings made from stone at the base of a ruined castle. This would be a great place to spend the night or a rest day (future camino notes!).
It was working up to be another hot day and my energy wasn't as high; I felt I had slept the last few nights, but not as much as I wanted and I could feel it catching up with me. There was a steep climb and then descent... great views from the top, of course!
A very important reason that I am on the Camino is to get out of my head (planning and doing mode) and focus on being in my body (being mode). Instead of pushing on, I stopped in Itero de la Vega, at another municipal albergue. This one is in a pleasant brick building near the church. There is a full kitchen, small patio and garden and no bunk beds! I'm pretty excited to sleep in a normal bed.
I made a lunch with some of my snacks and supplies from the small supermarket (tomato and cucumber salad with sheep cheese, peanuts and olives) and made friends with the other pilgrims. There are two from South Korea, one from England and one other from the US.
So, how much does the Camino cost? In general, it is a very affordable experience, though you can easily spend more by eating out more often and staying at private pensions and hotels along the route. Here's my breakdown from today as one example:
€1.20 coffee
€1.20 orange juice
€1 Aquarius drink
€3.70 groceries for lunch
€5 albergue
€4.50 groceries for dinner
I did have some gluten free cookies and rice cakes with my two breakfasts that I had bought in Burgos. Not too spendy, though!
What do you want to know about the Camino? Let me know and I'll focus on it in a future post! :)
Kilometers walked: 19.48 (Fitbit), 20.16 (Buen Camino app).
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