I started out on my own out of Mérida but within an hour I joined members of the caravan I wrote about earlier, the Korean, Canadian and the French father of the father and son team as the son got a later start for some reason. Days ago while we were all walking together, I gave them all names (I’ll spare you the details) but I named the Korean Helado or ice cream, the Canadian Coffee, the French father Wisdom and the son Humor. On that day we talked a lot. When I ran into them today, they told me the name they gave me- Teacher- Hmmmmm. After 3 days of solitude it was nice to have the company. Despite a slower pace the time went by faster. It was a beautiful day and walk ending in a tiny town Almadén which seems to derive much of their revenue from Pilgrims so the locals were very friendly and helpful to us. The hotel owner where I am staying even did all my laundry for free- though it’s 6:00 and she still has it. As a bonus, the way included a number of Christian respites where we all took time to pray, pretty special. With a heavy Camino presence and its intimacy, this is my favorite stop so far.

Now the yellow dots. The Via de la Plata route is contained in an App of the same name. A blue dot identifies my current location on a map and the Camino is designated by a never ending series of yellow dots. As the VDLP is not terribly well marked, the line of yellow dots is critical. I am constantly checking to make sure my blue dot is following the yellow dots. I’m not sure why I am boring you with this- I guess because the yellow dots are such an important and everpresent part of my journey.

Roman ruins on the way out of Merida

I’m not sure if the Quincy Shipyard would approve

The Caravan

The Church of St. Andrew built in the XV and XVI centuries. A local opened up the church so I could spend time in it.