The morning starts much earlier than I had planned, thanks to the woman in the bunk above me. She's not even French, she's English, I just don't know what to say. No matter her nationality, she's rather unpopular with everyone at 5am this morning.
Dinner last night offered lousy food, but great company. In addition to Thomas & Rachel from New Zealand, I was lucky enough to dine with George & Anita from Malta (who were also in Foncebaden) and Dorothy & Kris, two lovely ladies from Tazmania, who I have had the privilege of walking off & on with for a few days now. Such a fun group of people. We laugh so much at dinner that the disappointing meal is hardly noticed. George is an absolute character, taking peoples phones & cameras off the table when they're not looking and taking outrageous selfies before ever so carefully putting them back. He manages to do this to several people without getting caught.
Dorothy & Kris are also most interesting and amusing ladies. They walk along together and chit chat, all day, everyday, and its never dull. Each time I've come upon them they've been having the greatest conversations. The first time they shared a favorite Camino game with me. The goal is to figure out how to drop the line, "Well, when I walked across Spain..." and make a solid connection to any topic that could ever come up in conversation...say at a cocktail party. They do this for hours as they're walking along and it's just so highly entertaining, especially the way they say the line, drawing it out with an air of complete snootiness (their accents make it perfect), nose held high in the air and all. Then collapsing in a pile of laughter. These two impressive ladies who live in Tazmania, backpacked through Thailand together twenty years ago, and decided it was time for a reunion of sorts. They have so many good stories. The other amusing thing they like to do is debate whether their lives have been extended by five years from the exercise and many benefits of walking the Camino, or reduced by five years because of the additional wear & tear, sun exposure, etc. They go along for hours weighing the pros & cons trying to outdo each other. I told them that I think they'll find its a wash, that we will all just break even, but they just ignored me and continued because, really, there's no fun in that way of thinking! By the end of dinner my sides ache from laughing.
Before I head out in the morning I say a quick goodbye to everyone and get contact info. Rachel's feet are not good. Both of her heels are covered in massive blisters. I give her two large sheets of moleskin and leave she and Thomas knowing how worried they both are of the day before them.
I set off alone to Ponferrada, my body feels good and the sun is shining. Yesterday, being the best day on the Camino yet, (and there have been so many good days) has left me in a blissful state of happiness. The terrain has also become more beautiful and that combined with the weather has left even the grumpiest of pilgrims to smile uncontrollably.
Since Ponferrada is a large town, I decide to stop at the pharmacy for new supplies of compeed and ibuprofen cream. I then linger around the magnificent Templar Castle a bit, and decide to sit along the Camino for a quick pastry & coffee. While here I see Anita & George from Malta, Annette from Washington, Linda & Mike from San Francisco, Kathy & Wayne and Lorne & Sharon from Canada, Susan & Dick from LA, and Thomas & Rachel. This was the hotspot apparently. After chatting with everyone, I realize two hours have nearly passed so I really need to get a move on if I'm going to make it anywhere today.
As I walk out of town I see a green backpack ahead of me, just like Jenny's with a yellow flower, and I get a lump in my throat. I run up and peek around the giant green pack to see who is in front of it and a beautiful big German smile greets me with a "Hello" but it isn't my sweet Jenny. We make introductions, her name is Anke and she is from Berlin. This is her first day on the Camino and she is rather unsure with a "deer in headlights" kind of expression. I can tell she's thrilled that I am talking with her, and I think she can tell that I am also thrilled to have someone to chat with. When I explain about my friend with the similar backpack, we decide that it was fate that we met and we should walk together for a while. Anke is relieved to have a "Camino Guide" as she calls me, and I am thrilled to have met such a kind, bright woman. As we walk along and chat we find that we have quite a lot in common.
Anke has one son who is 24, and still lives at home. He and his father like to build and fly remote control helicopters. This means that family holidays are usually spent doing just that, at different conventions around Europe. Anke usually goes along and tries to find things to do near the convention sites, but after years of this she's decided to strike off and do her own thing. When she gets to this part of the story she smiles from ear to ear but with tears in her eyes and I can see how proud she is of herself for actually making herself go and do it, even though she was a bit scared and she misses her family. I too understand this feeling and with tears, smile along with her, thinking, aren't we just the pair of awesome mothers here. That's it, as we look at each other crying and smiling our friendship is forever sealed.
As we make our way out of the city, there is a section of path with tables set up and local people selling things. This is the first time I've seen this, but I had heard that it becomes more common as we get nearer to Santiago. The Spanish economy is the worst inside the EU, or maybe they are neck and neck with Greece, I'm not sure but there are many comments made by other EU members about their tax dollars going to these two countries in particular. I actually find the people who have the stands set up to be rather refreshing and enterprisingly minded for Spanish people, most of whom have seemed completely content to only work a few, if any, hours each day. We have many a joke about the Spanish economy and the fact the the customer must do all the work if you wish to purchase something. It's like a scavenger hunt to find a store that's open, and double the fun if you expect an open store which actually has the items you want to buy. Often, a three hour search for an item as simple a scarf (I mean everyone in Europe wears them right?) will culminate with the defeated purchase of a chocolate bar and fanta because in the end that's all you could find. It seems there's absolutely no mindset for marketing products or businesses whatsoever, and yet the Camino is purposely wound in and out, up and down hills, to go down the high street (Calle Mayor) through every inch of every tiny village so as to make pilgrims walk past the locked, bolted, shuttered, doors and windows of every business in town. If it weren't for this, the Camino Frances would surely only take two weeks to walk vice four to five and there would only be 4 hills. I'm certain of it.
So, at some point in Spain there was an enterprising mind at work who decided to parade starving, thirsty, people with pockets full of money past every single business in Spain. What they didn't factor in was the total lack of desire for the Spanish people to open the doors and windows and deal with the hassle of all that business so perfectly positioned outside their front doors. The irony of walking zigzags through these towns which added miles and miles to our walk, as well as hills, (because most Spanish towns were strategically positioned on tops of big hills so they could be defended more easily) past businesses which were all shut up tight, was sometimes more than we could deal with.
So, when I see these stands and local people selling fruits and handmade crafts I am only too happy to open my pockets and support them. We stay for quite sometime and chat with a man who carves wooden shells by hand and sells them. Each shell takes about three hours and he sells the for 16euro each. If this were the states they would be at least a hundred dollars for 3 hours of time, plus the craftsmanship & artistry. He ties them each with a leather lanyard. They are lovely.
It was well worth the stop but now we are way behind schedule so we try to pick up the pace. Anke moves pretty quickly with her giant green pack. We find ourselves walking through rolling hills that are covered with grapevines and cherry trees. Near the end of our day we see a white house high on a hilltop, that looks like something from "A Walk In the Clouds" We stop and take it all in. There are grapevines for miles, and at the end of each row is a rose bush planted and blooming, we assume to give the grapes a hint of flavor but we decide further research is required. The house is spectacular and clearly belongs to the owner of the massive vineyard.
We finally pull ourselves away from the beautiful views and make our way to the albergue. I had called ahead earlier in the day to make a booking for us because it was clear that after my two hour breakfast & chat, then our constant lingering, we would be arriving late. When I called and specified two personas, I was asked what countries we were from. For me I said USA, they actually say it as a word instead of an acronym, (oosa) and then for Germany in Spanish it's Alamania, but for some reason I said Elbanyo, which is "the toilet", and then the man on the phone, Anke, who was listening at my end, and I all started dying laughing. It was several minutes before we all regained the ability to speak again. Sometimes my brain just drops these little comic surprises, I've no idea where it comes from. When we arrived he was rather anxious to meet this woman from the toilet. I was so embarrassed. It's one thing to be lacking language skills, but something else entirely to be an absolute dimwit!
Showers are the first order of business as we are quite sweaty and smelly, but the sun beats the cold any day. Next is laundry and journaling in the sun. Anke has a hard time settling since its her first day, she's ready to go out and explore. Once my things are hung in the sunshine to dry, we head out to see the churches.
The churches are beautiful and each situated on hilltops, overlooking the city, but in perfect view of each other. There's also a magnificent castle which we are told is privately owned by a wealthy Spanish family who do not permit tours. Still, that doesn't stop Anke from attempting to get inside (I love this woman!).
It looks as if the churches were built to be in view of the castle or vice versa. The churches are also very minimal inside lacking the ornate baroque style alter panels that the cathedrals have all had. For Anke these are her first glimpses inside a cathedral, I tell her she is starting with the most perfect weather, terrain, and churches.
We head back and are starving for dinner, but it's late. We were told 8pm, which is three hours later than we want it already, but still we must sit and wait. At 9 the food starts coming out and we are all ravenous. The food turns out to be well worth the wait, and after last night, this makes me happy. I eat helping after helping, my body no longer able to reach a feeling of fullness no matter how much I eat.
There is a great group of new people at dinner, plus Yana and her husband who I haven't seen since Fonceboden. Mark & Enagi are also here, as are the young Christian Americans, but they are too hungry to wait and don't take the late dinner with us.
After dinner I get to chat with David (Macchu Pichu) and Niel a little bit and then head to bed. Earlier in the day Anke and I had selected two available lower bunks but we come in to find that Anke's things have been moved to an upper bunk. I am upset for her because I really haven't enjoyed my upper bunk nights, but she is giddy bouncing around like a little girl in her bunk. This makes everyone in the room happy. There are only women in the room, which is a very nice change. After a few minutes, the mystery lower bunk owner comes in the room, it is Maria.
Maria is much older than everyone else on the Camino, but we have no idea how old because she flat out refuses to tell. She walks with a very slow gate and a distinct limp, so she begins walking every morning before the sun is up and doesn't stop until 6 or after. She moves slowly but steadily with a smile and puts in long days so she can get the distance she needs. She never has a single negative thing to say about anything, or anyone period. She holds the love, admiration, and respect of everyone who she comes in contact with. Whenever she arrives at an albergue, always at the very end of the day, room is made on a lower bunk with no questions asked and not one bit of anger. You can generally see pilgrims scurrying about when she arrives offering help which she undoubtedly refuses. Whether we have met her in person, or merely heard the story of this magnificent pilgrim among us, we all worry about her, keep track of her, and love her. She epitomizes the Camino experience for us all.
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