Leaving Zamora I met Beatriz by complete accident and headed off into the countryside. The Camino was, once again, following pointless detours even going East at one stage. I was getting fed up with not going North or West with my ideal being to do both at the same time! Anyway, as I came to another non-sensical sign pointing East I jumped ship and followed my compass. I soon came to a road junction and saw 2 names of places I need to get to. Unfortunately at 230 and 89km they were a little distant! Hoping that there would be somewhere in between I started walking along the side of the road. About 5km later a car pulled up in front of me on the verge with it's hazard lights on and a woman jumped out and ran up to me. It was as if I was her long lost brother! She tried to give me food and talked without pause about her own pilgrimages. If I was a lone female I would not approach me on a street on a sunny day much less an unkempt pilgrim close to nightfall! She wasn't sure how far it was to my destination but felt it was more than 10 km, it was actually 22km! Almost completely dark and starting to rain I thought I saw some lights in a valley in front. 30 mins later I was at a crossroads with a bar. I asked if there was accommodation and didn't get a clear reply. I hoped that meant some black market b&b! I have encountered it before, whole hotels supposedly closed to avoid tax while doing great business through the backdoor. It was one of those, so 12€ later I am in an en-suite room as the rain really started to hammer down outside. A good omen for my new direction I hope!
