Well, let me tell you, itīs nothing remotely close to how you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada...
The day began in Carrion where we woke up early so that we could start the day bright and early (though itīs really under the cover of darkness because the sun doesnīt start to rise til after 8) so we were on the road at 7:30 am. We felt like all of those other lunatic pilgrims that walk in the dark but there was a method to our madness... supposedly the first 17 km of our day was to be completely flat with nothing, I mean literally nothing, between Carrion and the next little town. So we wanted to walk as much as possible before the sun got too hot and we got baked! (Jilly doesnīt need another set of raccoon eyes)
The weather was actually perfect for walking. It was cloudy and a nice gentle breeze. We were doing well but when Ben (jillīs bro) and some other pilgrims told us that this section was just like the Prairies, they werenīt stretching the truth. We walked and walked and walked for three hours and we still couldnīt see the next town. It was unbelievable really. We could see a slight hill up ahead and we thought once we climb it weīll see the town on the horizon... but no, just more flat terrain as far as the eye could see!
Well, you can only walk for so long talking about all of the goodies we are missing back home until you start to get really hungry for some treats... so we broke out a big bag of chips that we splurged on at the local "supermercado" as well as some pistachio nuts and a Kit Kat! The chips lasted maybe a km, but the others were inhaled instantly! But, Jill and I both can tell you it was a poor substitute for my Maīs Nanaimo bars and pumkin pie or Riaīs fruit crumble and ice cream!
So after four hours of straight walking on a flat gravel road through hay field after hay field after hay field after hay field (I think you get the point), we reached our destination and went straight to the bar where all of the other pilgrims were hanging their walking sticks and dumping their backpacks for a nice cold "cerveza", a nice hot "cafe con leche" or like Jill and I, a "chocolato calliente" or "Cola Cao" (hot chocolate)!! Everyone sat down and we all rubbed our feet and complained about the past 17 km together! To be honest though, Jilly and I have loved every minute of the walk but this little blip on the map was interesting for the first couple of km, but then it was pretty tedious. I donīt know how singletons walking this part keep their sanity! But let me tell you that little bar was making quite a bit of money from us "peregrinos" because everyone of us stop to get something to eat or drink. They are making a fortune! Talk about a great location! I mean 1000s of peregrinos walk through that stretch every year..... you do the math!
We were already over half way to our final destination for the day so we thought the next little bit (13 km) would be no problem! Well, 5 "minutos" after we left the bar it started to rain. We got all of our rain gear on and by the time we felt warm the rain stopped and it was another beautiful day on the Camino! We have been actually really lucky so far, up until this point it was the second time we got caught in the rain, our fingers are still crossed!
We were 2km away from where we had decided to sleep for the night and our bodies started to ache and our feet were screaming, "stop"! Itīs funny, no matter if we walk 20 km or 38 km, the last 2 km are always the worst. We finally reach the little village where there was a private refugio and we were ready to collapse. I had just finished saying to Jill how I wished the private refugio was in this very, very nice house (the only nice house) at the edge of town but no, the arrows told us to keep walking. Well, I turned the next corner and there was this old, dilapidated building with the word "Albergue" on the outside of it... I turned to Jill and said "you gotta be "*@#@* joking"... we walked around to the front of the refugio and it didnīt get much better. It looked like the roof was caving in, the bricks on the outside looked like they were about to fall, it was bad... Jill, who was ready to collapse without a moments notice, took a deep breath and said "well, I could make it to the next place"... I laughed but we could hear a lot of voices so I said to Jill letīs bite the bullet and take a look. It turned out that there were about a dozen pilgrims already inside eating and staying the night so we decided to as well. In all honesty, once you got inside it was ok. And the showers were clean with hot water! The little things you take for granted back home!
We had a little siesta and then joined everyone for dinner. It was a "menu del dia" but because it was a private refugio there wasnīt as much choice. The meal turned out to be very good. We both had the cooked vegetables to start (over the lentil soup) and then Jilly had the fish and I had the chicken. Not your typical Thanksgiving dinner but it sufficed! But the real kicker was the choices for dessert...... there were none! Actually, I stand corrected, there was choice... a choice of fruit! All of you back home are eating tons and tons of little goodies and here I am stuck with a pear and Jilly a peach and a banana! We giggled but next year at Thanksgiving are we ever going to pig out! But we soon realized that we will be in Africa (somewhere between Malawi and Zambia) for Christmas so it could possibly get worse.... oh well, cīest la vie! We could be at home working right now instead....
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We are now in Leon, which is only about a third of the way left to Santiago... parts of us feel sad that itīs coming to an end but other parts are extremely excited that the excessive walking will cease very soon!!
Hope you are all happy and healthy, you are all in our thoughts! And any gossip, trivial items of your daily lives or any type of news is very welcome because we have almost exhausted our daily topics of conversation! I know thatīs hard to believe but itīs true!
Til next time,
Bow.
PS. Happy 3rd anniversary to my sister Rhonda and her husband Dave!! Congrats, may there be many more!! Say hi to our little Godson for us and give him a nice big hug and kiss for us!
And GO SENS GO! First they lead the preseason, then win the Presidentīs trophy again, and then Lord Stanley!! Yeeeeehaaaawwwwww!
*****
Hi everyone,
Bow really did sum it all up above, so Iīll just add a few comments. We have continued to enjoy walking the camino. After resting for a day in Burgos, we had heard that the next third of the camino was going to be like walking the prairies. Although it was flat, some of the days were our most memorable. The days were sunny and warm and the land was flat but surrounded by many wheat fields. We walked through more villages that the first third and some of them were like approaching little towns out of a fairy tale book.
This second phase of our walk brought new faces. Once again weīve met very interesting people.
Wim and Cindy - they are a couple in their late twenties. They started walking from their home in Belgium in mid July. They are really coming down the home stretch. We can tell that they are finding it difficult to come to the end of their journey.
Etienne and Nellie - they are a couple in their 60s. Etienne has walked/cycled the camino 16 times and Nellie 13. They are also from Belgium and have started the camino in St Jean (where most people start), in the middle of France, and from their home in Belgium. The tragic thing about Etienne is that he lost his first wife on the camino in 1988 when she was hit by a car. However, he met Nellie and they are very happy together and walk the camino every second year.
Satomi - she is a young Japanese girl in her mid twenties. She must weigh about 95 pounds but is one of the fastest walkers we have seen. She speaks a little English but definitely doesnīt understand any Spanish. She has however tried to learn some French along the route ... each morning she says ĻBonne JourneeĻ as she passes us and leaves us in her dust.
Eddie - he is a 33 year old from France. Eddie is one of the most fun and energetic characters we have met along the route. We have been walking with Eddie for the past five days. We speak to him in French ... or some might call it Franglais ... and he speaks back to us in English. He started walking at the end of August in the middle of France. He laughs non-stop and most times itīs at himself. I have had a few major laugh attacks listening to he and Bow communicate because Bow likes to joke around with him but he doesnīt understand any of Bowīs jokes. Bow then tries to explain them in French, which is always a bit of a strain. It takes Bow so long and by then the jokes lose their effect. They both keep me laughing.
We think we will arrive in Santiago on Monday October 27th. If you are around, feel free to check us out on the web cam in the main square in Santiago in between 10-11am (your time in Canada - EST). We will stay in the square for an hour. I will have a black jacket on and Bow will be wearing his yellow jacket so you can pick us out on the cam. We will post and email closer to the date because itīs difficult to know now if this is the right date or time.
There are many web cams along the camino, but the one you will be interested in is the one in Santiago when you actually finish the walk. It's located in the main square in Santiago. We will be standing at the bottom of the main stairs in the square, which you will see when you follow the instructions below.
Go to:
http://www.crtvg.es/ingles/CamWeb/primenucamarasflash.htm
When you go to this site, you will be interested in the cam under "A Coruna". You will specifically want to look at the one called "Obradoiro Square".
Sometimes the cam takes a minute or two to load ... just to let you know. Sometimes it doesnīt work for certain people - not too sure why.
Hope all is well at home in Canada!!
Jill
Posted by jill at October 15, 2003 01:34 PM