Day 8 - Viana - 21km

Beautiful but hot day. Fields and fields filled with blossoming flowers. Very fitting for the day of the summer solstice. I'm absolutely convinced I'd have already had a sun stroke if it weren't for the big hat and the walking stick to support me. So to everyone back home who said it was ridiculous of me to purchase the hat in the first place, take this word of advice: Bring a hat when you go on a trip like this!

About 15km down I stopped for a bit and took my shoes and socks off, like I usually do when I have a break. I noticed a large edema on one side of my left leg, just above my ankle. Could be an insect bite, some plant irritation thing, or a type of blister. An Australian pilgrim who walked by had a look at it, he seemed experienced with this sort of thing, and strongly recommended I keep my socks off as it might rupture. He told me to hitch a ride instead. I was close to the freeway, yet it took a while for any cars to drive past, but eventually this kind Spanish lady let me get in. She dropped me off at a pharmacy in Viana, where I got a spraying can with some white stuff to disinfect it and maybe reduce the swelling. I decided to stay here the rest of the day and will definitely take it easy tomorrow. It doesn't hurt at all, and it's probably nothing, but better be on the safe side, right?

I'm in this wonderful refugio, which is a small hostel built right next to, and connected to a church. Two volunteer ladies here, who promised us free dinner & breakfast, music and other nice things in exchange for attending mass at their church. That's hardly an effort at all :) So I had a look around this nice old little town, and went to their Spanish mass. Their priest unexpectedly asked all pilgrims to come forward, gave us his blessing, shook our hands and asked us where we're all from. Very nice! After mass those two Spanish ladies prepared the most delicious meal ever, which brought at least six nationalities to the table and as least as many languages. Of course we had to do the dishes, which was a lot of fun, and then our hostesses had a special surprise: In their hostel, a little trap door provided access to the church balcony and attic. Very cool! This is probably my most interesting evening so far. Already looking forward to breakfast at 6:30 :D

And somewhere along the way I picked up this little belt I can put my drinking bottles on. So I don't have to open my backpack all the time. Improvements galore :)

Goodnight!

PS: I uploaded some pictures for Days 5 and 7. Sorry, didn't have time to provide a description for any of them, but they should give you a good idea of my experiences.