June 10
 And just goes to show you can't assume. We were ready for the heat and slog over the Campos, and woke up to cold and rain. The guys I have been walking with woke me up early as they were wanting to leave in the rain, as you know, I didn't bring a rain suit. Being woken up was somewhat embarrassing as I had not been sleeping alone. When I left my bed an hour later and opened the dorm door, there sat everyone along the wall waiting for me,and I started laughing. I needed a shower as I had shared my bed with a bed bug, which graciously bit my arse to bits.
I kitted up and we all left anyway, the rain dribbled down all day and I thought my cheap umbrella was the secret weapon, do you know what a cheap folding umbrella does in five minutes?, it let's in water.
Then the Camino gave me a challenge, a little different from the usual spiritual awakening stuff. As I walked along in silence, I put my brain to work solving this challenge, how do you walk in the rain, in the country, with a cheap leaking umbrella in one hand, a stick in the other, and still scratch you arse because of the bed bug bites.

About 12 miles of just this, no trees, no water, nothing to sit and rest on.

Miles of straight nothing.
We pushed on because we wanted to spend the night in a tiny village called Terradillos de Los Templarios, this village was once the stronghold of the Order of the Nights Templar ,as is indicated by the village name, an order that eventually spawned Off into the Freemasons that we know today.

We stayed near the old home of Jacques de Molay, the Templar Nights were charged with protecting the pilgrims amongst other things, but Molay was the last Grand Master of the Templars when they were persecuted by King Philip the 4th who had borrowed money from the Templars which he couldnt pay back, he was also fearful of there growing wealth and power as they invented the first banking system. he figured that so absolve himself of the debt , he should kill them all. At dawn on Oct 13, 1307, the king had all the Templars arrested and accused of crimes like sodomy,witchcraft, heresy, and idolatry, then executed. They say that this was a friday, and where the superstition that every friday the 13 brings bad luck.
Pope Clement V at first tried to intervene, but later changed his mind, but at the council of Vienne in 1312, he disbanded the templars and gave there lands to the KNIGHTS OF ST JOHN OF MALTA .
The remaining Templar leaders in France were excecuted , including this Jacques de Molay who was burned at the stake in Paris in 1314.

I spent the night trying to teach the Italians, and Matt/Jason, how to play cribbage.  Poking yourself in the ear with a stick is more fun.

Peter from Canada, speedy, Francesco from Italy

. This straight eventually turned and then became villages and hills. Rain, rain go away.

Packed my water logged boots with crushed news paper when I got there, to try and dry them out somewhat by morning. In the  morning they were still damp, but nothing else to wear, so here goes a comfortable day of  30 km and three changes of socks.

                                                 I know how this guy feels today