Beyond the clouds, the sun is still shining...and a glass of fresh orange juice is always waiting for me at the end of the day

After a rough and draining day yesterday, I woke up this morning feeling much better. I was happy, I was excited, and I had a plan to ensure that I would have an amazing day. The large blisters beneath my toes are healing really well, I hardly feel them anymore which is terrific. But, I have two tiny blisters at the bottom of my left heel which have been causing my a lot of pain. So, I decided to walk in my crocs today; that way my boots wouldn't rub my blisters and I would be able to aerate my feet more. The past few days I have been having breakfast when I reach the first city along the way...usually an hour away. Today I ate a decent breakfast before I left so that I would have a lot of energy at the start of my walk. By 7:30am I was on the road. I walked fairly slow and took frequent breaks along the way. Unlike yesterday, there were actually rocks and benches along the way so I had places to sit down and rest my feet. The views were amazing! A majority of the walk was through vineyards overlooking the mountains and valleys. My biggest fear when walking is that when I arrive at my destination, there will not be any room in the albergue (which hasn't been the case so far). I know that worrying about not having a bed at the end of the day isn't the point of the camino, so I try to zone out and just live in the now as I am walking. Plus, there are always hotels to stay in, but I don't want to treat myself to a nice, relaxing hotel until I reach Burgos (1/3 of the way through my trip)! Anyways, I anticipated that at my speed of walking, I would arrive in Nerja just before 2pm. Now I didn't push myself to walk faster and I did take several breaks along the way (including a half hour nutritious break), but I arrived in Nerja just after 1pm! I was shocked. I wasn't in pain, nor was I tired, and now I had even longer to rest in this beautiful city. After finding the albergue, doing my laundry (or rather the albergue owner did it for me), I found a quiet café in the main plaza, and ordered a café con leché and a glass of fresh orange juice. I don't know why, but since arriving in Spain I have always had a craving for orange juice. I don't drink it at home regularly so I don't know where this craving is coming from. But the orange juice here is absolutely amazing. The oranges are squeezed fresh for each glass, and it is sooo pulpy that it feels like you drinking an actual orange. It may sound just like any other orange juice, but you would have had to try it yourself, it is so soo good! Now the past few days have been pretty cloudy and windy, and it always seems to rain around 3pm. But in Nerja it was hot and sunny, so I was in heaven sitting in the plaza reading my book! And then just like it were following some set schedule, it started to rain at 3pm. I ran to the church and was planning on taking a look around until the rain passed, but it was closed. And so was the museum. And and so was the candy store. So, my only option really was to head back to the albergue and take a nap. When I woke up the sun was shining again (although it wouldn't last for long). I took a stroll around town, bought breakfast for tomorrow, bought some more blister supplies, and had some límon gelato! Every city I go to I try to find a gelato shop, and I always get the límon gelato. It is sooooo good! So far San Sebastian has had the best límon gelato. By the time dinner rolled around, I wasn't feeling too well; my stomach didn't feel right, my throat is sore, and I have a dry cough. But I knew that I needed the nutrients so I ate what I could. Tomorrow is another short day, and I am going to bed fairly early tonight (before 9) so I get a good nights rest. And if worse comes to worse, I am a day ahead of my schedule so if I feel sick tomorrow, Incan always take another rest day. Bye for now :)