We slept so well in the tiny little village of Obanos. The albergue was comfortable and quiet and all the guests were well behaved (no snoring) and extremely nice.
We get up, pack our things & have breakfast in the communal dining room with everyone else. There is a birthday girl in the group so we all sing happy birthday to her in our first language. I am the only American so have to sing by myself, which is slightly embarrassing but I survive it. When a German fellow needs the sugar which is near me, he shouts, "Hey Miss America, could you please pass the sugar?" Everyone chuckles and it sticks...I am now known as Miss America to the 30 people in the room.
That same man, who was staying in the albergue with his wife of 40 years, is quite amazing. She is in very poor health and overweight, weighing at least 300 pounds. The entire time we are in the albergue we notice him helping her with everything from bathing to putting her socks on. We commented that he is the most attentive & caring husband we've ever seen. We were also wondering how they could possibly be walking the Way since she struggles to walk even the short distances inside the albergue. When we go outside there he is with a beautiful handcrafted rickshaw that he has built to transport his wife in. Everyone in the albergue has heard the story of the man on the Camino pulling his wife in the rickshaw but we had no idea that it was them. He tells us about the 7 years of building & testing in in preparation for the trip and lets us take photos. The detail carved into each piece of wood cannot be seen well in the photo that I took, but it is truly beautiful. It looks like something Saint Nick would use to deliver toys to children. We all have tears in our eyes as they set off.
Jenny & I begin walking together again today. We have developed an easy Camino relationship it seems. At times we walk and talk, sometimes we offer encouragement when needed or a laugh, but we are both very comfortable walking in silence as well. She is usually several feet ahead of me, or further, with her longer legs & faster 28 year old pace. But so far all of our individual plans have worked well together. Each night we discuss where we'd like to go and what we'd like to see or do on the way & we typically have the same lists. This is rather astounding considering that Jenny's German published guidebook doesn't mention most things along the way, or even more unbelievable, make even one mention of Saint James. It does offer page after page of very detailed directions down to how many paces to take this direction or that. Since the Camino Frances is way marked at each & every turn, it renders the book rather useless. It has proven beneficial when we were in need of entertainment, however, offering several of the most ridiculous "useful phrases" in Spanish. My favorite of these is, "Go $@)! yourself, I've got aids" This is suggested for women in the event that they need to detour a potential rapist. The book is absolute rubbish, but each day so far it's provided at least one good laugh.
When we are really struggling to get through miles, we offer each other language lessons. Jenny is fluent in German, Spanish, & English but she is constantly trying to improve her vocabulary. Often times she will ask a question like, "what are some descriptive words to say that someone is very smart?" or "how can I say that one child is behind all the others in a way that is not harsh"
She is a kindergarten teacher in Germany, but is taking a year off to sort some things. After having a 6 year relationship with her boyfriend, the last two of which he underwent chemo for Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, she saw him through it and then once in remission, he decided he needed to see other people. This has been a year ago but she is still in shock. Such a sweet girl, completely unsure of what to do with herself now that her relationship has ended. She is walking the Camino for two months & then will return to Germany and start fresh with everything. New job, new flat, new life. Her things are in storage, as she gave up the flat they shared for several years and on occasion it hits her that she's homeless. Surprisingly, it's not that uncommon for people on the Camino, most of whom are walking because of a major event or transition in their lives.
My ultimate goal is for Jenny to fall in love with my son. Purely for selfish reasons, she would be an amazing daughter-in-law.
As we walk along today, we see fields of rape with poppies, bluebells, & daisies growing along side. It's obvious that we are moving toward the warmer climate with all the signs of Spring. From the buds & blossoms on everything, to the baby animals we see along the way. There are several calves, foals, chicks, & even baby storks in giant nests on one bell tower.
We are feeling very good today & even the little Basque toe, which looks awful, is behaving himself. We spend a good amount of time walking along with the large Irish group and John, one of the husbands tells jokes & sings songs along the way. He even stamps passports for everyone on the way out of Cirauqui.
In Lorca, we stop for a juice & rest at a spot with the large Irish crowd. Before we know it, three local gentlemen have picked up instruments & begin a little impromptu concert. The sun is shining and most of the Irish folks are dancing, it is just one of those magical Camino moments. We were all very sad to leave and continue walking.
We walked along Roman roads for a good portion of the day and I was very surprise to find them made of lose stones rather than large sections of stone. Apparently the individual stones have become turned and loosened over the many years that have passed. It was no fun to walk on, but I really can't imagine going over it in a horse cart. Would not be a comfortable ride at all.
Jenny & I decide to stop over in Villatuerta at an albergue named Casa Magica. We both have washing to do & want to catch up on writing. The albergue offers beds, showers, washer & drier, wifi, vegetarian dinner & breakfast all for 30 Euros. This is perfect, we will want for nothing.
We are sharing a room with Pietra, a Swiss woman traveling solo, who we instantly love. After a short while we are joined by Martin & Margaret, a German mother and son traveling together. Martin seems to be fine with being the only man in the room with three women, however, he gets a bit of grief from the other men in the albergue.
Dinner is a lovely relaxed event with everyone together. We have salad with loads of olives, soup, vegetarian paella, and homemade custard for dessert. This is the best meal I've had in an albergue. At our table sit Jenny, Petra, two Canadian ladies (who shall remain nameless), one older Italian man (who couldn't be coaxed to speak) and myself. We had a blast eating and chatting about everything under the sun, but mostly Camino thoughts & observations. All the ladies at our table got on and had a fun evening.
After dinner we all settled for bed quickly. Jenny and I really enjoyed the dinner with our group and we found it hard to stop laughing and settle. I shared with her that I have laughed more often in the last 7 days on the Camino than in the past year all together. Sadly, when I stop to think about it, I think it may actually be true.
No comments:
Post a Comment