First of all, the weather has been great the past week or so. Galicia is usually unpredictable and wet, but my experience in the province so far has been one of chilly, foggy mornings and sunny warmth the rest of the day. I´ve been walking more slowly than before, too, so instead of meeting new people every single day I´m getting to stay with the same crowd. Still a bit homesick for the fam and friends, though, but it´s less than a week until I get to see you again!
After I finished writing my last post I gave the American the ten minutes left on the internet and intended to go back to my room to wait for the 7 o´clock supper at the bar next to my albergue. Once I got back to the hostel I felt a sense of curiousity about my fellow countryman (Leeroy from Detroit, though he looks like Mark Twain) and decided to go back and talk to him. He was grateful for the internet time and after a pilgrims´celebration at the local church I joined him and four women from Quebec and France for dinner. Had some pleasant enough conversation, though it turned rather tiresome when I ended up being the most sober one at the table (three bottles of wine for the six of us, of which I had only two or three glasses.) During the meal I tried to steer the conversation toward subjects that would help me find out more about this guy´s spiritual side. He gave a rather noncommital answer when I asked him about his reason for walking. Talked about the history and all that nonsense, then returned to his lambchops. He seemed a lot more like a tourist than a pilgrim, though.
The celebration was pretty cool, though I missed most of what the priest said due to the language barrier, his speed of talking, and the slight fuzziness of the microphone. I think the main point of his talk was that the Camino isn´t a tourist´s trip, but an interior journey, and it´s something that continues for our entire lives. Got to have Communion for the first time in a long time, and I enjoyed the peace offering, where I got kissed on both cheeks several times and greeted in three or four different languages.
The next day I ate breakfast on the trail (jam and toast I had bought the night before) and covered ground quite fast. The walking wasn´t as memorable as the people I met along the way (who I´ve had the pleasure of seeing several times.) I met a tall, skinny Englishman named John, who was bald and looked to be in his 50s. He´s quite a character, I have to say. He treated me to a drink at the next bar we came to, and last night treated me and a nice English woman I met in Triacastela to the story about renting a car in Orlando with his family and ending up with an "aircraft carrier." At the relatively luxurious albergue in Sarria, I shared a four-bed room with a 50-to-60-ish man from Belgium (Albert), whose company I quite enjoy. He´s already biked the Camino, but to him it wasn´t really a pilgrimage since it didn´t give him a slow pace to think at. He´s actually here in the albergue at Arzua in the bed across from me. As I finished dinner with a package of a dozen chocolate-covered Oreos, I ended up sharing them with a German-American from Portland, Oregon. He had some interesting insights on the Camino, though I was saddened when he told me that for him at that point it had basically become a weight-loss program. I was perhaps not as aggressive as I should have been, but I at least told him my reasons for walking, so perhaps there´s a seed planted there. The exchange did confirm for me that the Camino is indeed in desperate need of evanglists, though.
After Sarria, smelling foul in my third or fourth repeat of my clothes (and even second repeat on the socks), I walked the thirteen miles to Portomarin. About five miles into it God seemed to be telling me to take my boots off, so I ended up walking almost half the day barefoot, some on quite painful gravel, to the amazement of Albert, John, and Chris (that´s the Oregon guy, who I hope had another seen planted in him from my reason for walking barefoot.) I stayed the night in a nice hotel recommended to me by Dad/Wick and washed every artcle of clothing with me. Took a nap while they all dried and went to dinner slightly damp but smelling fresher than I had for days. Ate my first real breakfast in a while the next morning and got a bit of a late start to Palas de Rei.
Since yesterday was a holday, I brought lunch along with me and ate it on a boulder on a beautiful rocky hill overlooking the trail. The main attraction was that it was covered in yellow flowers, which ever since my adventure approaching Logroño I´ve taken to be a sign of God´s presence. It was a bit amusing seeing who on the Camino noticed I was up there and who just passed by (see if you can spot the metaphor there.) Stayed the night in a room some French people and Leeroy and Marie (one of the girls from Quebec) in a really expensive hostel (9 € for only decent facilities!) Put my blister kit to good use for the first time in a while to treat Leeroy´s and Marie´s feet (all my blisters have long ago healed and turned to hard skin.)
Today I had a bit of a longer hike (though not as long as the one tomorrow!) to Arzua, about 18 miles. I got an earlier start than usual, so I was able to see the stars disappear in a beautiful sunrise behind me. The terrain after lunch was pretty rough, with lots of ups and downs through river valleys, but the sound of running water´s always fun. Tomorrow I will make the great 40 km leap to Santiago!
Faced with the prospect of ending my journey, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I am extremely tired and I miss my family and friends and bed, but on the other, I really quite enjoy this adventurous day-to-day lifestyle of eating meals at cafes along the way and staying the night in a different place with the same people. I´ll be sad to see it end. See you all in Santiago!
In Him,
Hunter
Stubble Update: Chin and neck have nearly reached beard status. Perhaps the chops have as well, I just can´t see them. No comments on mustache.
I didn't take this, so I'm not sure if this is the field I ate lunch in that one day, but if it isn't it's very similar.
