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BRIGHT AND EARLY
Monday morning did in fact get off to a promising start. First of all, because the cold drove me under the warm covers to bed a bit early (it is still odd to see it is still light out when we tuck in!) , I awoke a bit earlier than usual, before 6. This was good news, as I have been fretting a bit about not being able to start before 7:15 at best, and often later, which as discussed is now putting me on the tail end of finding places to sleep. Finally I had my chance to start really early and get a jump on the day! It took a bit of time to arrange and pack my not-yet-quite-dry laundry, but I did manage to be out the door by 6:45 am, my earliest start time yet.
It was still crazy cold and damp-ish, so I and the other earlybirds were once again dressed defensively against the rapidly changing elements. But the morning light offered hope that this actually might NOT be a wet day for once...and indeed, by the time I hit the first town an hour later, the sun was clearly out and I peeled off a few outer layers. Things are looking up.
Today was a super easy day: only 20K to Carrion de la Condes. (I chuckle at how my thinking has evolved: from needing 9 hours to do an eternal 22K back on day 3, my strength has now grown to the point where I am doing a steady 4K an hour, and anything under 24K is a light mileage. Um, wow.) Even better, the route was along the senda, an utterly flat (no hills!) gravel path (no mud!) alongside a two lane highway with towns every few kilometres. And with the early hour, and the fact that it was a holiday, there was little road traffic to disrupt the pleasant shamble past open fields under the bright blue sky. Honestly, it didn't get better than this. I knew I could be in Carrion by noon easy, even with pit stops, the earliest I'd ever arrived at any destination all Camino.
It was a blithe stroll, quite enjoyable and much needed after recent bleakness. I was feeling so good that I began to consider doing some of the next day's walk as well. That assignment begins with an 18K stretch with no towns or amenities at all; once you're on it, you're committed. However, if I really wanted to I could lunch in Carrion and then spend the afternoon getting ahead...with a little luck it would take about 4 or 5 more hours, and I'd have almost 40K behind me instead of only 20. Given the rare break of clear weather, it seemed a good idea to seize the chance to walk in it. I'd never been in such an optimal position to get ahead before.
BUT. That would put me back in my usual position of coming into town late, and having to cast about for a spot to sleep, and having little time for anything else besides dinner and bed once I got there. I was getting a little tired of this routine, as it was stressful till I found a bed, and also not very satisfying to just sleep in a town and not really see any of it. What's the point? That is exactly what I hate about The Amazing Race, and here I am doing it. Today's destination of Carrion de la Condes looked to be a bit bigger than the many villages we were passing through, with a bit of "there" there. What if I came in early -- early enough that I'd be there when the albergues opened after noon and could be guaranteed a bed -- had all day to hang up my still-damp laundry and let it dry thoroughly, found sone wifi and occupied myself with catching up on overdue blog posts and mail, and maybe just, you know, took it a bit easy and enjoyed the beautiful day NOT walking? How crazy an idea was that?
Soon after I noticed a pile of flyers stacked on top of one of the stone Camino markers guiding the Way. They were for a Hotel Santiago in Carrion, offering shared rooms with a bath instead of just the usual mass sleeping space and bunks, and the magic word: wifi. Always a sucker for albergue marketing and happy to encourage such enterprise, my decision was made. I sailed into Carrion on the stroke of noon and a light chill breeze.
OLD FRIENDS, NEW FRIENDS
The hotel looked like a real low rise hotel, not a typical mass sleep-zone albergue, and authentically decorated in brown Spanish tiles, antique furniture and pretty against yellow walls. Fifteen Euros vs the usual 10 or less got me a bed (not bunk) in a room of four, with our own bathroom. Also, the place was heated, so I wouldn't be freezing fir once. The wifi was choppy -- didn't quite reach the 3rd floor well -- but was functional. Sold, to the lady who felt like putting her feet up for the afternoon.
There was only one other bed occupied in the room when I arrived, and she turned up soon after I began unpacking: a chatty, friendly blonde American from Reno, Nevada named Kathy Hanselman. She is the age I was when I first learned of the Camino, but is doing it for the third time, which impressed me rather a lot. After we chatted a bit, she very kindly offered to let me enjoy the room to myself and went out for a while. I followed her example and let myself go for a decadent 15-minute hot shower.
(ASIDE: I have to say, despite the absolute rusticness of some of the places I've stayed on this trip, I have pleasantly surprised to find hot water always available. I hadn't been sure what to expect, and had even "trained" at home by practicing taking cold showers... But it hasn't been an issue, and I've been able to have hot showers -- sometimes even long ones -- every day. I'm extra grateful because I suspect they've been instrumental in assuaging my angry ankle joints and foot muscles at nights, so that has been a huge delight to discover on the Way.)
As I was coming out I heard new voices enter our room to take up the other two beds, and was relieved to hear they were English-speakers; sometimes the international quality of the Camino can make the effort of conversation tiring. One of the voices coming through the bathroom door sounded familiar, but I didn't think anything of it till I opened the door and saw my ear had been correct: our new roommates were Janet and Linda, a couple from Mt. Shasta in northern California whom I'd met along with Melissa back in Roncesvalles on Day 2, and whom I'd seen off and on ever since, but not since Burgos. What a break!
We were in the middle of catching up when Kathy returned, and then all four of us had a good old gabfest that denied any generation gap. Even more startling was when Kathy started talking about a sommelier from Toronto she'd met on the road, and I realized she'd met Matt's friend Jessalyn, who started walking two days behind me. Small world, and small Camino! It was great, and I felt even better about my decision to quit the road for the day.
PARIS ON THE MESETA
After a rest Janet and Linda decided to to walk around town. I felt like I should get out of the room too and get to work on the blog and stuff . My plan was to catch the sun (and ignore the autumnal winds) and write outside at a cafe somewhere. Kathy wanted to journal too, so we decided to go look for a place together. We found one, but then moved to one with a better sun-washed patio near the entrance to town, and set up as if to make like Hemingway over cafe con leches.
However, it never happened. I got about four lines down before we got distracted by talking , and ended up whiling away a good two or three hours of afternoon in animated conversation; Kathy is super friendly and very easy to talk to about almost anything. And then there were other surprised: Elke happened by just in from her walk of the day and sat for a bit.Later, an older gentleman noticed us and I realized it was Fred, the Scotsman I'd met in Fromista last night; he too joined us for a few rounds and conversation and even came with us to the supermercado to stock up on road snacks. It was a grand old afternoon of holding court and having conversations in the pleasant afternoon sun, and even the chilly breezes couldn't dampen our delight.
PILGRIM PAUSE
Eventually Kathy went off to find some dinner. I wasn't hungry, so I went back to the room for a bit until I heard the bells announce the 8 pm Pilgrim Mass that Elke had mentioned in passing.
My mother is not impressed with my churchgoing on this trip, and to be honest I feel I've been to more than my fair share of these services by now...but I figured it was a good way to see the inside of the church (so often when we pass through towns they are closed), so I opted to come in late. I arrived close to the end of the service, and chuckled a bit when I realized that the whole "Peace be with you" greeting and handshake ritual gets a bit discombobulated because everyone says it in a different language but doesn't know where the people around them is from, and so isn't quite sure what to say...makes it a bit comical.
At the end, as always, the priest invited all the pilgrims present for the blessing, and a few dozen of us came to then front of the church. He spoke, and a pair of nuns who'd been singing the Mass stood by and translated into English. It was all pretty standard until the nuns said they had a little gift for each of us: a little decorated paper star, meant to represent the light guiding us on the Way. You didn't have to be religious to be touched by this... I was amazed at the idea that these nuns make hundreds of these stars and hand them out every day to the pilgrims passing through their town, offering such warmth and support so sincerely. It really knocked us all out that they would make such a gesture. One by one, each of us stepped up, the priest laid his hands on our heads to invoke the blessing and make the sign of the cross on our foreheads, and then the nuns presented the paper star. I can't believe how much I cherish that already. This trip may make a reformed Catholic of me yet!
This support of pilgrims along the Camino brings to mind something else that has come up as we walk along the path...how ancient, and integrated the Camino is in Spanish life. There is an entire string of tiny villages with centuries of catering to and caring for pilgrims on their journey, and in many cases, pilgrim traffic is helping keep these places going where they might have just faded away -- in fact, some places like Boadilla are starting to expand by increasing their pilgrim resources. So in that way, the ever growing numbers of pilgrims beginning to crowd the Camino are a good thing.
It is also nice to realize that, although we are just part of a tide of one-night-only tourists that wash in and out of these towns every day, and could be seen as pests and parasites, there is still considerable appreciation for the spirit and mission of the pilgrims among locals. Many passersby offer a heartfelt "buen Camino" and a smile, and are tolerant of our poor command of the Spanish language. And there are statues all over the Camino that pay homage to the pilgrim tradition, from two in Burgos to three in three separate villages just today, and many more besides. It is quite something to look at a tribute to The Pilgrim -- not to Santiago, but to the walkers who began this journey to honour him -- and realize that the honour applies to you too...that you are part of the company of people being remembered and recognized for the effort you are making, via this artwork. I've never experienced such a realization before, and it is humbling and a cause for pride all at once. It makes me very glad I came.
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Quade H Lovely.