I did something yesterday that I have been fantasising about for weeks now. I went to the supermarket, bought some soy milk, ordered a 'cafe solo Americano' (a long black), then added the milk... Amazing! I sat in the little cafe and lost myself in the moment. Did I already say 'amazing'? Then... I ordered another... And still amazing! I was able to get wifi from my Albergue at the cafe which was over road, so I did some emailing, facebooking and just general nothingness. My body was tired and my mind exhausted - my mind seemed to do a lot of the work yesterday.
Back at the Albergue, before my heaven in a coffee cup moment, I had sat and blogged in the main 'living room'. Here, a Greek pilgrim who I have been running into throughout the Camino, walked past and asked me how I was. "Your smile does not seem so bright today," she exclaimed after my reply of "Good thanks". She sat down beside me and asked for detail.. In those words! "Give me some detail," she asked. So I had a bit of a vent about somethings that had been going on, and within 10 minutes, without realising it, she was venting to me about a 7 year long relationship that had failed due to his Muslim religion. 7 months after the break, he was married in an arranged marriage back in his home country. It's strange, hearing her speak about her pain and her sadness, and me having my brief vent, really lifted the clouds from my shoulders. This combined with my coffee moment, a reunion with Brad and Ashley from America over dinner made for a good afternoon.
The three of us sat on the side of a street and ate our peregrino dinner, watching other pilgrims walk past. We were looking at the sunburn, the tan lines, injury hobbles and drunk wobbles.
I got to bed at 10pm... Curfew. But there was a problem. My bed was so noisy, in fact, all the bunks in the room (5 in all) squeaked with even the most subtle movement... This is no exaggeration! I think the combination of the coffee and the noise from the bunks meant I watched every hour of the night go by on my watch.
It was ok though. I let my body rest, and my mind wonder... It was lovely and relaxing. I think that in a state of not sleeping, it is easy to become frustrated and then often, even the body gets no rest. At least remaining calm and knowing that the next day would come and go and be ok, ensured that I rose this morning with a little rest.
It was around 5am... Pilgrims were starting to rise from their deep sleep and move around. The noise from this meant that everyone woke super early. I left by 6am and was the second last pilgrim out.
I am really enjoying walking alone at the moment. Sylvia and I still stay in touch through email, and I miss our conversations during walking, but I think the separation was good for us both.
Today's path was far less clearly marked than usual. It wound in between farms, through small towns, and every now and then, at a fork in the road, you had to rely on intuition rather than the blessed arrows. I looked for signs of other pilgrims. These bought relief! The last thing a pilgrim wants to do is to walk further than they need to! Things such as fresh footprints, small piles on rocks and the odd piece of clothing or the full spaghetti bolognese jar all told me I was going in the right direction.
My pack has become 1kg heavier as I feed my caffeine addiction and carry my 1 litre of soy milk!
Today's walk was great. I was mostly alone and enjoyed every step. Even now, I am not feeling the effects of last nights lack of sleep - either my body got what it needed last night, or the coffee here is strong!
Around 11am, I arrived in Sarria. Sarria... The 100km to Santiago town! (111km going by the signs I saw, and 115km going by my book... But what's a few extra here and there!) I sat down and enjoyed an early lunch in the town and met a group of Australians who were starting from Sarria tomorrow to walk their 100km Camino. I feel like a veteran! It does kind of seem unfair that they only walk the last 100km and get the same certificate of completion.
It becomes quite important now to prove that you have walked the last 100km to the pilgrims office in Santiago. This is done by showing them your 'credential'. The credential is like a pilgrim's passport and is received on the first day of your Camino. You use them to prove that you are a pilgrim and therefore getting the pilgrim accommodation at pilgrim rates. Each Albergue and most bars along the Camino each have their own individual rubber stamp. You get a stamp on your credential at the Albergue to prove you walked through that town. This way, the officials in Santiago have evidence you walked the Camino. Due to fraud and lying and cheating, during the last 100km, it is rumored that you have to get 2 stamps at each town you stay - one at your accommodation and the other at a bar. You can never really decipher the truth in these stories that float the Camino, but for the sake of having an extra coffee at a bar in each town in order to obtain my certificate, I am willing to do this!
Most pilgrims who are walking with me now are on the same schedule. To make it to Santiago by Saturday. This means that most of the bigger towns, or the ones recommended in the guide books will be super busy combining the St Jean pilgrims and the newbies that have begun since. Today I walked out of Sarria and on to the next little town only 4km away (107km to Santiago!). I like the smaller towns anyway - more charm and personality! At the moment I am sitting at a stone table, on a stone seat, between a stone fountain flowing with water for pilgrims to fill their bottles and a small stone church (by small I mean around 6m2). All with beautiful roses clambering up and over them. Listen to the serenity!
Galacia weather is unpredictable, however, fingers crossed that the forecasted weather for the next few days - cloudy and sunshine, remains true - but come what may, baby I am hitting the streets of Santiago very soon!
I have a beer to drink and some sun to enjoy... So buenos tardes and esta luego... :)
PS... Leg not so good. Ice, elevation and pills are back on the agenda...
I wander how good that coffee is after weeks of wondering... Ha.x
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