Day 28 1/5 /12 Murias de Rechivoldo - Rabanal 17km (The Ranch)

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On the road by 7.30....very cold and misty...quite flat but hills in the distance.....we stopped for Toast and coffee a couple of kms down the road......walk into this very big warm homely great fantastic place.....had we walked 2 more k's we could have spent the night here....If we only new....never mind wouldn't have got the education on the running of the albergues or get to act like a pig to have pork for tea......

We took heaps of photo's of mist.... stone walls.... and old buildings....just never get tired of the scenery and try to capture it all on the camera for later.....

There were quite a few people on the track as we started walking....saw the horses up ahead but couldn't catch up with them...hadn't seen them for a while but see their deposits on the track every day.....

Saw James and Ange and walked with them off and on for quite a while......trying to teach James to say "Gday mate"......got about 10 days of walking am sure he will get the hang of it.....

Most of the walk is close to the main road but it doesn't seem to busy.....we spent some of the time wandering down the middle of it.....as pilgrims seem to do.....came across another fence with wooden crosses on it.....

Stopped in a small village at a bar all decked out as some western cowboy type...Had a fire going but the owner was a grumpy fellow.....met a aussie guy Bruce from Macay Qld.....He was travelling with his wife and niece....they are walking and he has a camper van....He drives it to the place where they are going to walk and waits.....they sleep in the van not albergues...... they are spending six months travelling around Europe ......

Arrived at Rabanal and had some lunch....our intentions was to walk on as we had only gone 17km, but Jacqui wanted to hear the Monks and their gregorian chants.....we were standing at the edge of the town wondering weather to stay or walk when the guy from the snoring room walked passed...we watched to see if he was staying or walking through....he walked on so that decided for us .....we were staying

We went to church and heard the chants......Of all the churches I have seen and been through which are many for all their gold and silver and amazing arcitecture.....this church felt like how a church should be.....a few cracks no gold and silver....this would be my favourite......

Our alburge for the night feels like a ranch....had a little bar.....a place to sit and eat buy a fire.....would be a good one in the summer time.....Its not summer tho another very cold night......I did some washing in the hand basin outside, the water was so cold and we hung them on the line.....when we came back from tea someone had put them inside by the fire....

Jacqui went and had a sleep before tea....

I got a phone call from Dwayne telling me about how Jules was in hospital.....He assured me everthing was fine......It made me realise what such an unrealistic life I was living....every day is about Jacqui and me....I dont think of anything else but us packing our bags in the morning and walking to our next albergue......an incredibly simple life and everyone around me is living the same life...no talk of morgages....problems....bills.... worries...conversations seem only to be about very simple things.....Dwayne's phone call just sucked me of the camino and dragged my back into the real world.....I know the walk is going to end in about 10 days time, but am sure that it is a gradual acceptance and am still expecting to feel very emotional, but its a day that I will slowly get to.....this is something different. This is unexpected....no warning....all of a sudden I was thinking of the real world....very emotional and I was feeling very selfish.....I wanted to be in London with the kids....but I also needed to finish the walk...I am so close to the end....I know it will take me a few days to get back onto the camino.....I may be walking but it wont feel the same for awhile.....

We went and had tea after we had heard the monks chant.....We saw Tony and Clare and ate with them...It was a lovely evening they were staying at the place we were eating at...

All the lights were out when we got back so crept in...Jacqui slept on the top bunk next to mine...she normally sleeps on the bottom bunk .....

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