May 19. 6:00 PM. Day 7. Walked 29.4 km (18.3 miles) today. Walked 167.8 of 787 km (104.3 of 478 miles) total.

Whew! Today was a long and hot one. I started late this morning as I was luxuriating in my hotel room. After a shower and breakfast, I did not get moving until about 9:00 am. Considering that I had over 18 miles to walk today, that was very late. After walking for about an hour and a half, I came upon Grant, Bryan, Sara and Chris. They were stopping at a cafe so I stopped with them and had an early lunch. We stayed there for 30 or 45 minutes and the I started again alone.

Much of the morning I walked through the suburbs of Lagrona next to fairly major roads. It was not the highlight of the trip! However, by the afternoon, the road turned to paths and became beautiful once again. My pushishment for the late start was walking through the heat in the afternoon. I think I have learned a bit of a lesson. As it is getting hotter, it is more important to be walking early.

I arrived in Najera at about 4:00 this afternoon, very tired! The albergue here is one big room with three rows of bunk beds. Every two sets of bunk beds are pushed together, which essentially means I am sharing a bed with a stranger. My bed neighbor is from Germany and seems very nice. We will see if she is as nice in the morning after spending the night with the famous American snorer.

Good news... I am able to upload photos here and am doing so now. You can see them all at

Talia and Zach -- are you paying attention to the blog? Post a comment or send me an e-mail and tell me the name of the person that I started my walk with!

Until tomorrow...