While Nancy continued trekking on, after my short taxi ride, I checked into the Pensión Palas, settled into our room. Needless to say, the shoes and socks were the first to go! Once cleaned up and toes tended to, slipped into flip-flops and gingerly wandered into town. First priority – a seat at one of the 3 small tables at an outdoor cafe as I welcomed the sun in my face while decompressing both body and mind. Once relaxed, I lollygagged back up the main street not only to shoot yet more street scenes (ya think?), but more importantly to pick up some groceries to take back to the room: fresh bread, cheeses, some tasty essentials to go with those, a couple of bottles of wine, and a couple of chocolate eclairs for dessert.
Mi amiga arrived literally just in time before the afternoon rains came. Not only do I believe she was she happy we had “room service” for the night, but also we were both ok with not having to go out to eat. 25 km’s is a long haul; I was proud of Nance, but I was also happy I made a smart call to stop my hike early vs. trying to tough it out. The food and wine, plus the soothing sound of the rain was a great way to slide into slumber.
