Friday, 6th October.
Fermented vomit

No sign of new cat piss on bag!

The towns are becoming a blur, Santiago is so close.

This morning we stopped at a bar in Gonzar. After carefully studying the menu, I decided to order a bocadillo con tortilla y chorizo (mmm, greasy). I said to the barman, "Por favor..." and the barman jumped in and said (rather forcefully!) "No! ... pause for dramatic effect... No pan!" I stood there open-mouthed, turned to my fellow pilgrims, who promptly burst into laughter.

Since there was no bread I had some little cakes or something. While we sat there munching and sipping, a Japanese woman that we had seen on the Camino for the last couple of days burst into the bar. And I mean burst in. There were hanging beads in the doorway, and she was crashing through as if they weren't there. In and out she went, and in and out again, each time making us giggle with her disregard for the hanging beads. (This woman was walking with someone we assumed to be her Mum. What really cracked me up was that they were carrying umbrellas!)

The time came for us to pack up and go, as I approached the doorway I said "Let's do it Japanese style!" and attempted to crash through the hanging beads. And I would have, if they hadn't got all entangled with my backpack. Noelle helped me extricate myself from the doorway. Another magic Ian moment.

Dave and I were astounded when we came upon a eucalypt plantation today. We were rapt, and grabbed some leaves from fallen branches. We rubbed the leaves and smelt that eucalypt smell. Hey we can use it to combat the smell of the plastic-covered fermented vomit piles!

The what? Well for the last couple of days we've been passing these piles of goodness knows what, which are covered in plastic. The stench is overpowering - enough to make you forget that I'm a bit on the nose. The smell is difficult to describe...imagine the most horrendous smell that your olifactories have ever experienced, then imagine that you've eaten that foul smelling thing and then thrown it up. And left the vomit to ferment for a few days. That's kinda how it smelt.