May 19th

Top bunk bed in cavernous refugio.  120 pilgrims -- exhausted.  Remember bleary-eyed (left eye) proprietor at Orns..., who Alfredo assured me was a "doctor."  He was at that point holding Stephano's feet, jiggling his legs.  Alfredo said last year bleary-eye looked at his wife and said, "She's not well. Take care of her."  I changed my expression from "expecting joke" to "sorry your wife died," as she's obviously not with him on this trip.  He continued, "I said, 'Her? She's fine.'  But then I asked her -- she was on her period."  My expression changed again (this time involuntarily) to that of a ripped off customer.  I said, hopefully cryptically enough, "Ask him how I am!"  Later tampon fell out of my bag, which I'm sure he noticed.  Embarrassed momentarily, then rather proud, as in "Look how tough I've been even on my period." 

After we got here, so hungry went to restaurant without telling walking friends and made reservation for 7 pm (sat with some nice non-English, older people).  Then later Stefano said Alfredo had made reservations for all four of us for 8:30, as by then 7 pm was booked up.  

[Handwriting indecipherable]

Shock when she saw me again, then "Darling, come here. What's your name? I want you to meet my friend." (Not boyfriend like in bathroom?)  "Now you must go to bed. You must be knackered." 

I asked, "What's your name?" 

"Claudia."  And then she did the two kiss thing, which I did just as smoothly, or at least more smoothly than most Americans.  "Now you better go to sleep. You must be shattered." 

She's driving to each point as her boyfriend walks it.  I felt like she was quite blatantly trying to neutralise me, though I was just as happy to go along, as I didn't want their company.  Or maybe her boyfriend was somewhere else and that really was just a friend (he was cute), who wanted to meet me.  She was in such a hurry to grab me, then subtly push me out.  Anyway, I've got the rest of this book to read.  I'm hoping to replace it tomorrow in Pamplona. 

Japanese in top bunk next to this one has huge Camino de Santiago book with one hiker heading into horizon on cover, and huge camera or game boy or something, which he's watching now.  Young shirtless man next to me perhaps hoping I'm finished zipping and unzipping.  Wonder if he remembered earplugs?  Earlier in St Jean Pied de Port, saw guy, late 30s and plump, holding three electronic devices and staring at them -- one with a map, the other a phone, who knows the third.  He still looked just as lost as the people looking at paper maps.  

Woman who opened the door of refugio is from Surinam and thinks me beautiful, always laughs when she sees me.