downhill from here

how do i decide what goes into my reports and what doesn’t?

it’s quite simple - i apply my daughter’s test criteria, namely whether she would say it is cringe, or whether she would say ‘dad, it’s another dead joke’, in the case of the answer being yes, it definitely has to go in.

even though my contemplation card for today suggests temperance, it also mentions courage. so anything goes.

today i had a bit of time for myself initially, walking mostly down from the ‘valley of snoring’ towards zubiri. then there were conversations with denny & henry from sydney, with the two apostles / beatles john and paul from essex, and last but not least an afternoon catch-up with ian from melbourne and his clique of the day. a swedish yarn lady, knitting while walking, two irish blokes and and englishman.

ian i had first met in sjpdp. we have this agreement, that should he not make it to the end of the camino, i am to gather fellow pilgrims for the ritual burning of his gear, plus a barbie with marshmellows over the coals. all in celebration of his best attempt at walking the camino.

john from england, who seems well-trained at dad jokes also presents his minimalist packing list: it includes three clothing pegs to hang up his washing, one each for his two socks and one for his t-shirt. he doesn’t swap undies, since that would disrupt the steady stream of pheromones attracting fellow pilgrims to walk with him. not sure i wanna going forward!

when he hears about sheep’s wool as a natural remedy for the prevention of blisters, he suggest a visit to the next sheep’s paddock to obtain the finest wool from a sheep’s buttocks. his beer(s) of the day seem to work.

if there are any reports in the local newspaper tomorrow, you know it was this john-fellow, not me!

my plan for tomorrow is to have an early start and walk straight to the supposedly most homey and welcoming donativo albergue in the old town of pamplona. i hope it works out, if not the next best option is the public albergue with more than 100 beds, so probably about 20 snorers. i need some sleep, so i can come up with a few better thoughts for tomorrow’s post.

hasta mañana.