Walking is painful so I decide to stay and rest my feet another day at this hostel – my oasis in the desert. It’s a relaxed day. I sit on the grass by the Valcarce River and stretch out. I play fetch with Lua, a neighborhood dog, watch a bird feed her young peering out of a nest, learn how to make tortilla Española, enjoy lunch with Lalo, and cool my feet in a small stream. When it’s bedtime I find I have the big 8-bed room to myself. As pilgrims checked in throughout the day Lalo had put them in other rooms, leaving me to my privacy. Sweet.