sending you all greetings from the sleepy little town of castrojeriz.  this is a gorgeous little town with a castle in ruins just up the hill.  how incredible to live in the shadows of a castle.  all i know is that i felt happy the instant i saw the red roofs and stone buildings, some in ruins, some not.  it took about another 45 minutes to enter the town from where i first saw it, and i just felt happy the whole way.  lydia had told me to find a certain albuerge, but she met while entering the village and we ate an incredibly delicious lunch first.  almost all of the restaurants offer a pilgrim´s meal, which is 3 courses plus dessert, and today´s was one of the best.  garlic soup is a specialty of this region and i started with that.  anyway, i came into the albuerge and the hospitalero, paco, greeted me warmly and showed me my bunk (i got the bottom-yes!).  one of the crew does reiki, and did some work on my legs, and after he was done, paco came over and did massage.  so i spent the entire afternoon on my bed, being catered to and pampered as if i were in a fancy spa. 
it is amazing to me that even here on the meseta, in this tiny village, there is still a computer where i can reach out to all of you.  not only that, there is a little sign on this computer about the home page for this town!  check it out:  www.castrojeriz.com  .  you will see how lovely it is. 
here on the meseta there is not much to look at, so i have gotten lost in my thoughts quite a bit.  i am having to be very rigorous about my spiritual practice so that my mind stays in a good place!

i have a short day of walking tomorrow in order to stay in a small, very special albuerge.  although, they really are all special, i have to admit.  even the huge ones are cool in their own ways.

sending you so much love and gratitude.  your love and prayers give me the strength i need to get through this-
peace and blessings-
a