Dreadknot and Two Feathers

It's amazing what a little bit of rest does for an injury! We only left for the Camino at 09:00 which is a very late start for us, passing by one of the many ancient " lavendarias" (communal laundries) that are now historical points of interest as we made our way out of town.

Shuffling up the steep hill climb, we met a woman who lifted our spirits and made our day. Fili Katova is a wonderful artist and a free spirit who also has a home stay for peregrinos at her beautiful artsy home. 

If only we had known about this awesome place, we would have kept on walking yesterday and stayed here instead! I would definitely recommend it. Fili also showed us her art which is gorgeous, colorful and expressionistic bringing together nature, culture and people.

She was about to go to a neighboring village to paint a "carpet mural" in the town square for a festival that was taking place there. This is the painting depicted below.

Check out her artwork at www.katova.blogspot.com or bisontedemaariz.blogspot.com

What a divine human being. I'm so happy to have met her!

Both of our injuries were feeling much better today, a huge relief considering the  massive climb that confronted us first thing in the morning. The terrain fortunately flattened out for a long stretch this afternoon, allowing us to make more miles than expected today.

Today Josh got a trail name: Dreadknot. His long dreads tied up in a top knot above his head has been the interest of every person we've come across. It's the perfect name! Now we go by Dreadknot and Two Feathers. 😀

A 22 miles/35km day brought us to the town of Vilalba where we're camping behind the Albergue in a nice sheltered nook. After a camp meal of noodles, avocado, nectarine and melon juice we're feeling pretty stoked about the day.

We received a gift of melon juice from another hiker who we've called "Speedy Shorts". Another pilgrim we've met on and off for the past week, Susanna from Hungary also kindly offered to share some of her supper and then took photos of us in our tent, as it is interesting considering that hardly anyone does this hike with a tent. The other Hungarians at the Albergue were very intrigued by Dreadknot's hair and wanted to feel it and look at it which cracked him up laughing.

We see the finish within our sights and we're loving the journey!

Best item in the pack: Frogg Togg rain ponchos. We've used them as rain ponchos, tent camouflage, tent darkener as it stays light until after 10:00 pm and a picnic blanket.