The German host wakes us up bright and early at La Faba. When I had checked in, he explained that in the morning he would wake us up with music at 6:00. “Oh good,” I thought, remembering my first morning on the Camino — in Roncesvalles. A low light came on in the room and slowly grew brighter. At the same time, Gregorian chant music played softly and gradually grew louder until it was at a natural volume, and we were all awake.

However, now is not quite the same. Sharply at 6:00 a.m., the host flips on the lights, abruptly shattering the calm of the darkness. Then he begins to move about the dorm, with an old boom box on his shoulder, playing music. Not the gentle Gregorian chant I was looking forward to . . . he’s blaring cumbia dance music! Maybe that’s strategic. It does make me move faster than usual. I’m up and dressed, filled with coffee and bread and on the trail by sunrise.

I feel so good I walk nine miles to Hospital. That’s the name of a town, not a building 🙂  There I enjoy watching a dog herd cattle through town.