Ponferrada to Villafranca

After the midnight bathroom party, the loud hippies, my battered knee and a restless night's sleep, I wasn't feeling particularly joyful this morning.

To be honest, I was feeling a little lost, a bit disorientated and my mind was definitely unsettled.

Being on Camino leaves you open to being blind-sided by the memory of old hurts you thought you'd left behind you long ago, and today was just one of those days.

As we were walking, we came across a lovely little wooden sign with one of our familiar yellow arrows and an inscription in Spanish underneath. Davide and Tano kindly translated for me and Susanna and while we didn't quite get the full meaning, it was broadly saying 'use your time well'.

When you're spending your precious Camino time worrying, this stung a little bit. Then again, maybe facing up to buried feelings is exactly how I should be using some of my time out here.

That night we stayed in a really lovely hostel - Abdal and Magda had taken the bus that day as Magda had had a glasses emergency (Abdal stood on them!), and they'd booked us into a gorgeous, family run place and cooked us delicious (and incredibly spicy) food which we ate together of course.

After dinner, ee all piled onto a sofa and the floor in the common area in front of a computer to watch The Way - a film about the Camino starring Martin Sheen. I'd already seen it before I came out, but watching it again, all scrunched up with my Camino family, our arms and legs all intertwined, was a pretty surreal experience.

It's quite a sad film and I was glad of the excuse to shed a few tears if I'm honest.

Before I came out, the film had made me so excited for Camino, but watching it now, it was amazing to note just how much more incredible and powerful it was now I was living it every day.

And you really do 'live' Camino rather than 'walk' it. As in life, you can't be 'up' all the time, no matter how awesome your experience or surroundings.

Some days, you've just got to deal with your shit, get an early night and know that tomorrow will be a new day.