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Published: July 18th 2010
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Sunrise
A daily occurence, every day of life. Only I´ve missed so many... Nearing the large city of Leon. Tomorrow I will arrive, probably in the company of Liana, as we kind of paired up here for a couple of days to walk in tandem. Today was a really wonderful day. Full of dogs of all kinds, but all of them very adorable. A reasonable walk of 25km, I can´t believe I am calling that reasonable, but indeed it was quite simple. One cannot get cocky on the camino, however, because injuries of all kinds spring up seemingly out of nowhere. It seems body parts have minds of their own. A knee could just become tired of walking and give out, sending a sharp pain to remind you that you are not boss (Liana). Or despite your ability to walk on despite many blisters, your steady tempo, your experience doing this thing three years earlier, your knee (again the knee) might just get so bad that you are literally hobbling down the path and have to make the tough decision to take a bus and rest (Gavin). Or you may be so beset with blisters, covered from toe to heel, that you describe them as "Mother Mary is weeping out of my feet" and
foot soldier
Fernanda, always smiling on the path, despite her aching feet, her crying feet, who promises that her smiles are all "real"!!!! question whether you will make even this next day of walking (Fernanda). Or you could get shin splints suddenly after two weeks (Melody) or bed bugs (many people, unfortunately, and according to one hospitalera, it is not common to the camino but only recently, and that one unclean albergue (hostel) causes the spread across the entire camino. Or you could be fine and then someone notices that your hair is very greasy and you admit you have shampooed only three times in the past three weeks (DREW).
But I am doing very well at the moment. Yesterday I walked 33km and today as I said, 25. Tomorrow is a short jaunt of 13 into Leon. The big city shall embrace the pilgrim with open stony arms.
Since I went through the self-group struggle, and gave in to the social aspects of the pilgrimage, I have been relatively at ease with others and my heart has been more open than before. Spending time with Liana has given me the experience of the non-solo camino, which has been nice and interesting. Everything is intense. The ups and downs of emotional swings, the small crises, the introspection even. Sometimes just walking
alone all day is like writing in a journal without a pen and paper. And walking with another for miles and miles is quite unique. It is like waking up in Manhattan, calling a friend you haven´t spoken to for awhile and saying, "hey, lets take a 15 mile walk and trace the contours of the island". You´d get some serious talking done that way.
A nice anecdote: Last night we cooked our trademark pasta dish, replete with peppers, onions, spinach, fresh tomatoes, and the clincher - chorizo. The oils of the sausage just permeate the dish and send shivers of joy and delight through the entire head, neck and stomach region. Sometimes it moves down to the feet and the feet go "mmmmm.....food." Four of us ate with cheap delicous Spanish red wine on an outdoor table in the shade with the sun drenched grassy lawn before us. I felt superb. We´d invited the hostess of the albergue to dine with us. Her name is Jennifer and she is a Canadian native living in Massachusetts. She´s done the camino twice and has decided to be a volunteer for some months. Her spirit is very serene and gentle. She
Pasta cups
Among the most perfect lunches I have ever eaten, the Rio Elsa gracing us with her company welcomed us with great warmth. After dinner (I engorged four helpings) with Liana, Jennifer and Carlos (a 22 year old from Bilbao who plays in a band called "Thin King", hahaha), Jennifer suggested we bag the extra pasta and have it for lunch. Liana and I hadn´t thought of it. We went with the suggestion. And so, today, we found a patch of river, the Rio Elsa, coursing through Mansilla de las Mulas, and squeezed our divine Italian treat into tall plastic cups. We dipped our fresh bread and rejoiced! We sang songs to the river, songs to the weepy tree shading us, songs to our happiness in this perfect kind of moment. As we walked on, the joy continued. My harmonica accompanied us in a medley of Disney cartoon movies and she taught me about the great musicals of our time.
So nice, hopefully I won´t have a "joy hangover" as the Buddhist nun Pema Chodron calls it. But that is just my brain, flipping in its fearful circles. Doing its gymnastics, a lifetime of such has taught it.
In technical news, today I found out that my dad succeeded in pushing back my flight by 2
days, which allows me for some breathing room to complete the pilgrimage without feeling crunched and harried. I think this will be very very important and I´m so glad he could manage that. Thanks Pops!!!!
Love
DREW
Day 1: St. Jean Pied de Port - Roncesvalles 27 km
Day 2: Roncesvalles - Larrasoana 26 km
Day 3: Larrasoana - Pamplona 16km
Day 4: Pamplona day off
Day 5: Pamplona - Puente la Reina 24km
Day 6: Puente - Estrella 22 km
Day 7: Estrella - Los Arcos 21km
Day 8: Los Arcos - Lagronia 29 km
Day 9: Lagronia - Najera 30 km
Day 10: Najera - Santo Domingo de Calzada 21km
Day 11: Santo Domingo - Belorado 22km
Day 12: Belorado - Ages 28km
Day 13: Ages - Burgos 25km
Day 14: Burgos - San Bol 26km
Day 15: San Bol - Castrojeriz 17km
Day 16: Castrojeriz - Poblacion de Campos 29km
Day 17: Poblacion - Carrion de los Condes 16km
Day 18: Carrion - Terradillios de los Templarios 25km
Day 19: Terradillios - El Burgo Ranero 33km
Day 20: El Burgo - Villarente 25km
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