Last night in Santo Domingo, a woman from Wisconsin handed me a “tree of life” sticker which I promptly pasted on the back of my iPhone case. Next to the one from DeYoung museum in San Francisco.

She handed them out several of them to people in our auberge bunk room.

Just a nice way of connecting with people.

This morning, on the way to Belorado, I paused at a roadside cafe for coffee, OJ, and a croissant in the town of Granon. As I turned to find a table I bumped into a tiny Asian woman.

As I apologized, she laughed brightly and said, “That’s ok, I’m just too short!”

I replied, “No, you’re just right! I’m too tall.”

At the tables, she introduced herself as Philomena from Taiwan. As I introduced, she gave me a keychain affixed to a card promoting Taiwan.

In Viloria del Rio, another 10 kilometers down the road, I took a brief detour to the Inner Camino House, something of an oasis on this long hot slog.

Danny Vermeeren from the Netherlands opened Inner Camino in May of this year as a way-station for tired pilgrims. You can grab a couch, pick up a guitar and play the piano, help yourself to the food in the kitchen, use the bathroom.

Danny only asks that you clean up your dishes and consider leaving a donation to help keep the place running. It is also very much his and his wife’s home.

He was an IT manager for 40 years and apparently fell victim to Dutch retirement rules. Not a happy situation.

From such frustration and anger grows this profound act of generosity.

Danny estimate about 140 visitors a day. He welcomes each, asks where they are from, points out the food, and encourages them to make themselves at home.

A thoughtful act as I was checking into the auberge today: the owner had me booked into an upper bunk. She had a single bed available in another room. Would I prefer it over the bunk.

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Sunflowers began to take on personalities today. Humble servants to the Sun King. There are acres and acres of them now. Also Sunflower graffiti is a thing, apparently.

Didn’t have to ask twice. “Old age benefits?” I asked. She laughed and shrugged.

I have the only single bed in the dorm.

As I was sitting here writing beside the swimming pool, my friend MinLi stopped by and handed me a postcard. On the front is a drawing of her native Malaysia.

It was a thank you card for walking the entire 28 kilometer day to Logroño together. “Having you by my side gave me more eagerly to keep going,” she wrote.

And here I thought she was motivating me!

So many simple kindnesses, thoughtful gestures — you can see the Camino is not an ordinary place.

Tonight is a pilgrims dinner here in the auberge. It is a chance to meet new people, exchange stories while breaking bread.

Another gift of the Camino.

There were other theme to today’s walk — textures, art and everything else. These collections are on the fly so fairly incomplete but they kept me on my toes.

Let’s start with the clash of textures:

Some of the art encountered today:

All the rest: