Ciruena (pronounced: theer-wen-ya)

Whenever you stay at a really nice alburgue, it seems inevitable that the next one will be.......interesting, to say the least. When I got to this town, it was as if there was no one living there. I followed the signs to the hostel, and after walking 26k, was really hoping it was open. It was. The hospitalier spoke no English and it appeared I was the first guest. He barked out the rules, in Spanish of course and I had to work out a vague translation - he pointed to the toilets and said "pee pee and po po". Okay, he was trying to communicate..it was hard not to laugh. Dinner was at 8:00 for 7€ and breakfast was included in the 13€ fee. I looked around at the simple, but clean surroundings and decided to stay. Just then, Burt from Tazmania, who i met on the road earlier, came in and I was relieved to know I wasn't alone (this was before I knew how much he snores!). Anyway, I asked the man if I could get something to eat...was there a cafe/bar in town? He shouted at me, pointing at his watch and holding up 4 fingers, indicating the bar closed at that time. It was around 2:30. He shouted again, and started pushing me towards the door and I deduced that I wouldn't be able to get food past 4:00. Of course, I took his advice and Burt and I headed to the bar for a salad and beer. By the time we got back, 11 more Peregrinos had joined us and everyone was settling in. I had a shower that started out warm and ended up freezing and I never fully recovered as there was no heat in the place! At 8:00 we were all called into the tiny kitchen where the man had made us a fine stew made of lentils and chorizo. It was really good and the portion was huge. Fruit for dessert and then we were shuffled off to bed. I shared a room with Burt (the Tazmanian devil snorer) and two delightful women from the Netherlands. Turns out Burt was born there so they all spoke Dutch and had a great time though I don't have a clue what they were talking about. I put in my earplugs and hoped for the best. Burt kept us all awake half the night! Breakfast - tostada and cafe con leche was at 7:00 am promptly, and we all made our way out into the crisp, cold morning. It was a beautiful 5km to Santo Domingo where I planned to spend the morning before walking the next 17km