There were only 4 of us in the dormitory last night (Miriam, Marco, Tony - Spanish guy and me) but it was freezing cold. Miriam made a pizza out of bread which she did in an antiquated microwave oven that should have been binned years ago. It was delicious. She caught the bus today so Marco and I set off at 8am. It was a great 27km walk today except I am having problems with my other foot and stopped at a bar to swop my orthotic in the one shoe for the inner sole of my shoe. That was a disaster and about 3km before the end I stopped to change everything back again only to find to my horror that I had left everything in the bar some 10 kms back. I stopped the first Spanish pilgrim with a puede ayudarme (Rachel - note) and he phoned the bar for me (thanks for the phone Barbara) and arranged for a pilgrim in the bar to bring them to me. I am having problems with these shoes and hope I don't have to buy others in Leon. No rain today and the sun even came out for a short while. The Meseta is looking magnificent and I am enjoying it. The only albergue at Teradillos is full and a pilgrim is sleeping in the passage. It is a ghost town with an albergue and nothing else. At the moment it is filled with peregrinos who stayed at Granon and each one tells me that it is still at the top of their list and that the 3 hospitaleras were the best ever. It is rather like being a school teacher on holiday meeting up with her pupils However, those comments make all that hard work so worth while. I have to be in Astorga on Monday to meet Maggie so might have to bus the last 20 km into Leon. Tomorrow is another 27 km. I am going much slower this time around and find 27 km is now far enough for me. No longer do I walk the 35 km days. It is strange walking the Camino the second time. I am definitely more laid back but probably not as fit. I also started off in searing heat and now am walking with a minimum of 3 layers. I have just posted off all my summer gear to meet me in Santiago but am stuck with my lightweight sleeping bag
---
Posts
Hi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI just got off the phone with Rachel. You'll be glad to hear she's gotten her hair and nails done and is back to normal. She sends her love.
I'm relieved you've had a day without rain. I hope your boots got a chance to dry. I've been worrying about your feet.
When you run into our pilgrims, do you always recognize them? Do they recognize you? I simply adore the image of you walking and eating and sleeping with the very folks you were taking care of just days before. You probably have pictures of them on your camera. Do you tend to look at albergues any differently now? I'm interested in whether your experience as an hospitalera has shifted how you see the Camino.
I've never stayed at Teradillos but had a snack there twice. It's a cute place. I love the walk out of that little town. In May I stepped to the side of the Camino just past the town to talk to Coty on that little phone you're carrying. And I took a picture of myself with my camera because I was so happy to be in the sun, on the Camino, talking to my beloved daughter, looking at the path unrolling before me to the west.
Thank you so much for continuing to post these wonderful updates. Your second Camino has been full of contrasts, as well as two weeks of arduous labor. Very interesting that instead of being ravaged by these new challenges, you've become more laid back. I've just been Googling various kinds of strength -- compressive versus tensile -- trying to find a good metaphor for the strength I see in you. But it's all too technical for my jetlagged brain. I need to talk it over with that Taiwanese pilgrim who had just gotten a master's degree in physics -- remember him? -- and decided to walk the Camino to unwind.
Anyway, metaphorical strength aside, you're my Camino hero. B