Short day to Bendueños.

Woke up this morning to grey skies. Cold. But not raining:-)

I'm walking alone again--my pals from the last two days aren't walking today but I'm pretty sure we'll reconnect at some point in the next few weeks. 

Today had a lot of ups and downs and a lot of mud. But I can say with certainty that it is much nicer walking through the aftermath of days of rain than walking in the rain. 

The views on this stage are incredible, usually looking out across the valley. 

Even in the fog it was beautiful. 

So I took a little detour to go to a new albergue in the little lost hamlet of Bendueños. Run by Sandra on a donativo basis, she grows most of her own food and serves meals. The albergue is across from the church and is quite comfortable. 

In the afternoon I had a surprise visit from Ender (the Spanish Salvador angel) and two carloads of friends of his, all camino nut cases like me. Sandra made us all a delicious meal and we had a totally wonderful time.