First thought this morning: “Oh my goodness, how am I going to walk another 12 miles today?” I wasn’t tired, just very very sore. There’s a difference, I’m not just denying the fact that I was a little out of shape. But, I wasn’t the only one. Haha, just by making eye contact with someone you could say everything. Breakfast early again, at 8:30 (I think you can guess by now what we had). And once again, on the road.
Today would be slightly different because we would be stopping in the middle of the day for lunch. Although today we were to walk the same distance as yesterday, there would be much more elevation changes. You also have to factor in the sore muscles, making us just a bit slower than before. Also, the town we were going to pass through around lunch time was famous for its octopus…so we couldn’t pass on the opportunity.
So, around noon or so we stopped in a town, slightly larger than the others we had been passing, for lunch. The walk up until then had been very scenic. Beautiful trees, rock walls along the sides of the path, old houses and churches, and of course, cows. I spent the whole morning walking with Lindsey, a girl in my group who I hadn’t met until the camino. She was great company and time flew by.
Lunch was a feast!!!! Out came the bread and vino, and….you can finish the sentence. Then we started with pulpo (octopus) which was very tasty. It’s cooked in huge pots of boiling water/broth and served in small bite-size pieces with toothpicks. Yummy! Then more Gallego soup, which is always served out of a large silver pot on the table (there’s probably some fancy name for the soup pot, but I don’t know it). Then arrived platters of salad, French fries, pork chops, and pork loins. And then platters of fruit – my favorite dessert ; )
The second half of the day, which consisted of more walking, was long and hot. The road had more ascents and descents, which took a toll on my joints. This was the first day that the camino really became a mental game. When every step you take is more that “slightly uncomfortable” so that your body seems to be yelling out “STOP!” with every knee bend or ankle extension, it can be hard to continue. “Why am I doing this?” is a question continuously boiling in your mind. “I haven’t committed any deplorable sin that needs to be pardoned”. “This isn’t the Middle Ages anymore; we have cars now than can take me to Santiago!” “Is excessive soreness considered an injury?” Of course, then I think about the 75 yr-old Italian who has been walking from France and feel guilty for even thinking these ideas. “Why am I doing this? Because I can!” “No, you don’t need to cleanse your soul, but you can grow from this experience, and it’s always good to be safe (you never know when the next predicted rapture or apocalypse will be correct)”. “Yes, this isn’t the Middle Ages anymore, so be thankful you have shoes on your feet and a mattress at night!” “You can’t be hurting any more than everyone else, especially the older ones, so toughen up and keep walking.” Of course, then I come across another mile marker…“Ugh! 12 more km to go today”….and the cycle repeats itself, haha.
Around 5pm I arrived in Ribadiso, our final destination for the day. Ribadiso is a beautiful spot that is so small it probably shouldn’t even be called a town. It has a population of 10 people. It consists of an albergue, a restaurant/bar, and maybe a couple houses for the bar owner and workers. The albergue is situated along a small stream and is very picturesque. When we arrived, we laid out on the grass to rest and some people dared to go waist-deep into the freezing cold water. I preferred the sun. With Lindsey who I had become friends with the day before, and the three Spanish guys, we walked to the patio of the restaurant/bar and had a few drinks. And by drinks I mean I had a coca cola. It just felt so good to sit and know that I wouldn’t have to walk again for another 15 hours. It also felt good to know that we were in the middle of the countryside with nothing to stress about. This is the simple life! We also had some great conversations; everyone went around the table and shared their most embarrassing moment. (I told the story of how I got my nickname in 5th grade of Purple Rain.)
Soon it was time for dinner and, because we had eaten lunch before 4pm for once, I was actually hungry for dinner. We had dinner at the only restaurant in Ribadiso. Ribadiso would definitely be considered a pueblo-calle, which is the term they use for towns built exclusively as a result of the camino that, without the camino, probably wouldn’t exist. For dinner I had a mixed salad and then fish and potatoes. While the menus are the same at every place we stop at, there are usually slight differences in each dish, so ordering the same thing every night wasn’t tiring. Of course, it also helps if you’re really hungry and exhausted from a long day of pilgrimage-walking. For dessert I tried a coffee-flavored liqueur. I don’t like coffee, and I don’t really like the taste of alcohol, but for whatever reason I liked the liqueur. The camino plays crazy games with your mind!!!! While sipping on the liqueur we watched a group of about 10 Romanians playing musical chairs and singing. They were super into it and everyone inside the restaurant was captivated watching them.
As about 10 of us got into our beds to rest and chat before bed, we heard the most ridiculous conversations among other walkers. Two men were speaking in English, or attempting to, since neither of them had English as their native language. One of them was trying to ask where he got his camino passport to get stamped, while the other one was trying to ask from where he had started walking from and when. Neither of them understood the other’s questions and both of them were very determined to get an answer. Alyssa from our group went over to them to try to serve as translator, but even as she tried to explain to each man the other’s question, they continued to talk and ask their same question over and over again. We couldn’t help giggling. Then some Spanish started talking and making hilarious comments that had us close to tears from laughing. “It smells like something died in here.” Of course, they soon realized that we were listening to them, so we struck up a conversation with them and learned they were from a city not far from Alicante.
When I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, there was a girl and a guy looking at the stars and talking in broken English and Spanish. The girl was part of the Spanish group and spoke only a little English. The guy was from English and only spoke a little Spanish. Still, they were enjoying each other’s company and alternated teaching each other words in English and Spanish. I jumped in and played the role of translator. They were looking at Orion’s Belt, a constellation that Aina, the Spanish girl, hadn’t heard of. This was one of my favorite moments of the camino. Here we were: an American girl, an English guy, and a Spanish girl marveling over the stars in the middle of the countryside, following a pilgrimage that had been walked by millions before us from the time of the middle ages.
It’s hard to describe the exact emotions I was feeling at this moment, but it was something surreal. It made me feel like the world isn’t so big after all, or that we aren’t all so different. I started to think a lot about foreign relations and war and how most of us never even get to know our “enemy”. I wonder how things would be different if were we all forced to go on pilgrimage with our enemy before starting war. This could either go very wrong or very well I think; all of your true colors shine through on the camino. Either way, I think we’d have a better idea of how other people live and we wouldn’t feel so estranged from others around the world. It’s a shame that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to travel and see the world. I feel so blessed.
Uh oh, now I’m started to go religious on you, maybe this spiritual journey is rubbing off on me. Or, as Lindsey’s mom suggested, maybe I’ve found the peace and reverence I was looking for. (Lindsey and I had a good laugh about this. Her mom is very religious and is always hoping that Lindsey will become so too. Lindsey had been texting to her mom along the camino about what she had been seeing and doing. Lindsey never made a reference to peace or reverence, at least not to her knowledge, so when her mom asked her if she had found the peace and reverence she had been looking for, she was totally confused. I told her my parents would probably be concerned if I told them I had found peace and reverence on the camino, at least if I said it in this manner. Then I got the idea to write a blog about how I had found Jesus along the camino, or to write to my parents thanking them for raising me, but that I had decided to join a monastery and was now only a daughter to the Lord.)
No comments:
Post a Comment