Monday, May 19, 2008

May 11 - Monesterio to Fuente de Cantos

I am walking again. So hard not to. Each time I ride I get so disappointed, for what I want to do more than anything is walk. That is why I came! So we walk. No rain, just chilly. We left before the others. Just outside town Manolo rides up and stops to say goodbye. The area is very nice. I am enjoying it, trying not to think about pain. Which right now is not so bad....but wait. I know what everyone tells me, but hey, I have to wait for the sign, what sign???? I don´t know!!! By the way, I pee often in the bushes. Salvador is very patient with me for I probably pee 4 times for each time he does. And I never throw toilet paper on the ground. I take it with me. Which is something I must mention. Compared to the Camino Frances this walk is void of litter. It is so refreshing, for I remember the CF had so much of it. Void of litter on what is considered the camino, because when in cities or along main roads there is a lot of litter, which obviously is not from pilgrims, otherwise it would also be seen along the camino. I congratulate everyone of us for being so careful about our loved Via. I had to stop and rest. My leg was hurting. Moos caught up with us and he wanted to rest a bit also. So I started walking alone slowly and told them they would catch up with me at some point soon, but that I was going to thumb a ride. I walked by a pig farm adn all those piggies were scattered around until they heard me approaching. All of a sudden it was like a pig magnet appeared (me) and they came up to the gate screaming and clammoring over each other to see me. It must have been feeding time and they thought I was the food. It was so funny I wish I had videoed instead of a picture, but here they are... It was a long time before I was on a main road that led to a major road. I stayed at the stop sign until they caught up with me. They went across the road and stayed on the camino and I turned right, onto a paved (!!!) road. It was a pretty walk today. I stayed on that side road and no one picked me up. I stopped at a small brook and rested for a bit. By now it was sunny with a chilly wind. I wrapped myself up in my sarong (multi-use, I love having it) and made it to the main road. It was a sunday.... hardly anyone on the road. I walked and walked and started getting upset that these guys were walking on a beautiful camino and I was on this highway, on asphalt, and km after km was going by. I stopped often to get the cramps to subside and finally, finally someone stopped. A young man was on his way to pick up his daughter for the day in Fuente de Cantos. He told me he liked me and wanted me to meet his daughter. We stopped to pick her up and she is adorable, 5 years old. I told him he should make a dozen of them, he laughed, rolled his eyes. Then he dropped me off at the albergue. The albergue is in an old convent. The place is very spacious, the rooms, the living area, the courtyard, the place to hang your clothes, all large. It rained and we had to hang our clothes to dry in the room. There was one room with just 2 beds and the Iranian couple had that one. They were so quiet, for any attempt at conversing was difficult. They knew none of our languages and we did not know theirs. But lots of smiles. They burned incense and it wafted into our room, I loved it, for I am carrying the same incense they are burning. Something in common. I met Peter from Galway,Ireland and we went out for a beer. The guy is young... first young person I met besides my son, and he is teaching English in Salamanca. Peter is learning Japanese, for he is going to Japan to teach English. That is his work. Travel and get to know the world and teach English. Great way to see the world. I enjoyed our conversations, they were deep. Notice I am not writing anything about my feelings,sentiments, etc.... this blog is for me to remember what I did, who I met, where I went. My thoughts, feelings are mine to keep. The Via, like the CF gives time to reflect, to plan, etc. Everyone I have known comes away with positive mental experiences. Although I do love reading other people´s blogs where they share intimate emotional experiences. I went into the chapel. Since it is Sunday, all is closed except for that bar, so we all ended up eating dinner there. The place was full of men all watching the bullfights, a commom thing to do in the evenings. I know it bothers many people, but I don´t let it bother me. It is their customs, their traditions. And I can see it is changing as younger people in Spain are feeling different ethically from the older generation. TOTAL 22 KILOMETERS. I DID ABOUT 18 OF THOSE!

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