The longest day

Only 18km but a very tough 4km climb over rocks and along paths through pine and eucalyptus forests. The day began well with about 9km of easy dirt track and some of the cobblestones but not many, which was good as they are very bard on the knees and legs. I seem to have a magnet in my shoes for debris so  stopping every few km to dump out the small pebbles. And because I'm wearing support hose with no sox, I'm a bit like the princess and the pea. It doesn't take much to make me uncomfortable. So by 10am I put on some thin sox and my feet are feeling much better. 

So then the climb and down the other side. Really quite lovely but, oh how my knees hurt on the way down. We saw some strange plastic bags hanging from the pine trees collecting sap. 

And here is Les smelling the sap. Smells like pinesol. You can see from the poncho that he's wearing that we had a bit of rain. Not much, but enough that we pulled on the ponchos for an hour or so. 

And here is the wildlife shot of the day. Chickens and roosters moulting. 

And we are seeing more lovely signs so we know we're on the right road. 

At the albergue we met two young women from Winnipeg walking with their mom. This was their first day, so I told them it would likely be the worst day. Everything after this would be easier. And walking to the shop, we were hailed by a couple from Noway, walking with their 6year old granddaughter. Today, they knew the route would be tough so they took a taxi, but normally the little girl is covering 10-15 km. 

we're now enjoying......sorry, have enjoyed, our beers.