Morning comes too soon and my body is not excited to move. The first few steps of the morning hurt so badly that I want to die, but it becomes much better as soon as everything is stretched out. We all hobble down the stairs moaning & groaning to breakfast. Everyone is there except for our Canadian Ladies who have skipped breakfast to get an early start.
Jenny and I start off together talking about the last few days. We are really missing Lynette & are hoping that all is going well for her. Our conversation drifts to the effects of walking outside for long periods each day. For me, it has changed my desire to relax out of doors. When we get to our stoping place each day, I am content to take a shower & spend a few hours indoors relaxing before heading outside again. This is new for me as I generally prefer being outside as much as possible.
Jenny is hungry 24 hours a day and eats at every opportunity, even while she walks. Her body is fighting to maintain the little bit of weight she has. Whereas I have no appetite during the day & I struggle to make myself eat while walking. Once we are stopped for the day I am ravenous but this doesn't help me with energy during the long days. She is concerned and constantly telling me to eat something. While trying to explain that I think walking releases endorphins that suppress my appetite, she hears me say " indoor fans" and assumes that I am now talking about people who don't like to go outside. A 45 minute very confused and convoluted conversation ensues, until we finally figure out that it has been one long miscommunication from the start. At this point we laugh so hard that we are stopped in the middle of the Camino doubled over with tears streaming down our faces.
In the past few days this sort of thing has happened several times. When walking within a group of people who speak English, German, French, Italian, & Spanish, a simple comment can cause the conversation to fragment and go many different confusing directions. It's much like the game rumors (or telephone) where one thing is whispered around in a circle & then comes out completely different at the end.
It's also very amusing to me that when there are difficulties communicating, people tend to get very animated with their gesturing. I imagine this generally looks to casual observers like we are playing some type of traveling charades. One such great multilingual conversation about bull fighting had a few of us imitating the picor using our trekking poles (person who stabs the bull to anger him), one person with head down snorting and scratching the ground with their foot (the bull), and another running in circles as the matador, using the ever multifunctional trekking pole as the sword to place directly between the bulls eyes. (You would be amazed at the things we accomplish with these arm extensions!) All the while moving forward toward our goal for the day. This was a lesson for me actually, I had no idea there was a sword & stabbing involved...I only knew of matadors waving red capes around.
One of my first days I shared a saying from a running shirt that my Hawaii ladies & I have. The saying is, "It's a hill, get over it!" The first time I said it I had several people near me, none of which spoke English except Jenny. I got blank stares from everyone so I began to explain that the humor was found in the double meaning, both the literal of actually climbing over the hill, and the figurative saying in the states "get over it"....still blank stares. Then Jenny says..."no, I get it...it's not funny" I was a bit bummed but then just let it go. A short while later we came to another hill and I heard someone say in a very heavy accent, "Just get over the hill!" and everyone started laughing....apparently the humor just didn't lie with me!
A short while later we arrived at Fuente de Vino, literally a font of wine, provided by one of the local wineries. There is a webcam that I had read about previously & sent a very rushed message to my kiddos and a few others just before leaving the albergue this morning. I am so hoping that it works and wishing that I could see my kids as well. My homesickness has definitely set in now.
Jenny & I arrive alone at 10am, but within a few minutes we have a gathering of pilgrims standing around drinking wine in the morning as if it were the normal thing to do. The first to arrive are Benedict & Martin, two boys from Germany that we've seen a few times along the way. Benedict is a Boy Scout & now the leader of his local pack. Martin has only a short time and then has to return to his training as an electrician apprentice. They are very nice boys and they both love Jenny to pieces.
We set off again feeling a little sluggish after sipping the wine, and it begins to rain almost immediately. Within an hour it starts to rain very hard and the temperature drops. After walking only 12km, we call it quits and check into an albergue. Within minutes there are 50 other pilgrims coming through the door. All the German boys that had been in Obanos with us were here & Lynette!! We are so happy to see her! She comes in our room and sits on the bed with us to chat and catch up. She is excited, and a little scared, that she is the only woman in the room with the 5 German boys. We assure her that the boys are very well behaved.
The rain continues outside and more pilgrims pour in. Once the albergue is full, they begin to put people on the floor. When the floor is full, the pilgrims are regretfully sent on to the next town 2.8km away.
The couple sharing our room are from Amsterdam. They tell Jenny & I that they are walking the Camino together with no time limit. They have just lost their 6 week old son and are walking together to heal, to spend time together & hopefully to try for another child. When the wife says that they would love to have a Camino child, Jenny & I exchange glances and she quickly adds that they will behave themselves tonight, with a smile. After they leave the room we are stunned into silence at the ease in which they shared their loss with us and the strength they must have in their relationship together. This is another one of those Camino moments that we agree will stay with us forever.
We had a lovely dinner with everyone in the albergue and then we met Massimo...
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