As planned I was on the road out of Arzua by a little after 6:00 am. It was cold. In the 30’s, I think, but I’m never sure because the conversion to farenheit is complicated. (Why in the world is the US the only place in the world that isn’t on the metric system?)
It was great because I got to use some of the extra stuff that I had been lugging around with me the whole trip. I put on 4 layers, long sleeve technical under shirt, my favorite Kuhl button up over that, a long sleeve wool pull over sweater and then my Kuhl Saboteur jacket. I was glad I had brought gloves and a knit hat. Of course it was dark, sunrise wasn’t until 8:45 and so I even got to use the cool combo solar powered phone charger flashlight that the kids had given me for my trip. It has a clip so I could hang it from my jacket and it lighted the path in front. Thanks Emily, Hannah and William.
I had a little trouble finding the Camino in the dark but with the help of an early riser who I flagged down in Cortobe I was soon on the way. It was really fun. Prominent above my head were Orion and the Pleiades (constellations I knew from by scouting days). Other than the sounds of roosters and coyotes, I was alone on the Camino for going an hour. It’s really well marked and with my trusty combo flashlight I had no trouble spotting the way markers. I wasn’t going faster than 2 or at best 3 kms an hour. A little after 7:00 am, I could see movement ahead of me on the trail. Seemed like a group of peregrinos moving along even more slowly than I was. I was preparing to give them a hearty “Buenos Dias, Buen Camino” when as I got closer, I realized it was dairy cows lumbering along single file into their milking barn. I told them “buenos días” anyway and the farmhand responded with a nice “Buen Camino.”
Before the sun began to rise, a blanket of fog rolled in and it was really beautiful and so peaceful.
The cafeteria at the hotel hadn’t opened when I left so I was anxious for a cortado and came upon a little place in Calzada. The lady asked where I had started the day and when I told her Arzua she said that it wasn’t possible because her first customers of the morning always came from the Albergue next door but she made me some scrambled eggs anyway. Before I left a few other pilgrims wandered in and by the time I finished my eggs I was no longer alone on the Camino. The sunrise was beautiful.
The fog hung around for several hours. The Camino is really lovely here mostly nature trail through eucalyptus and pine forests.
I finished Stage 32 to Pedrouzo by noon and by 1:00, I was having a break at a cafeteria in Amenal about 6 kms from the Hotel Garca where I was meeting the horseback group for lunch.
I was pretty proud of the fact that I was going to get there before the horses when after about 10 minutes back on the Camino I heard hoof beats behind me and them loudly greeting me with “Joven Jeff” (my affectionate name for myself).
At that point it had gotten pretty hot, I was down to one shirt and my sun hat and after they went on ahead I again picked up the pace. But it was tough going because the 5 kms from Amenal to Lavacolla is a pretty steep ascent. Nonetheless, I was at the Hotel Garca for lunch by a little after 2:00 and had already covered more than 30 kms. (That’s going on 19 miles)
After a nice farewell luncheon which included champagne toasts, wine and a shot of orujo (spanish grapa), I was back on the Camino waving to the others as they took off in a car to the Pilgrim’s office in Santiago.
I hadn’t once taken out my earbuds on the entire trip. Before I left SA I had downloaded some of Cary’s (our) favorite music, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, the Stones, Willie Nelson and I decided to listen to some tunes as I walked the final kilometers into Santiago.
Just as I was putting in my earbuds, my favorite Camino friends appeared. Matt, a young Englishman from New Castle with a theology degree from Oxford and his companions Janus and his wife Pia, from Estonia and Fever, a mountain guide from Iceland.
I first met them outside Leon and had seen them often every day or so since.
I’m pretty sure they had all read my posts and could see I was turning inward so they walked on ahead.
I thought about a trip Cary and I had made to Spain sometime in the late 90’s.
We had taken the train to either Salamanca or Avila and met a young American college girl who was either traveling on her own or maybe studying on a study abroad program.
We had planned to have lunch at a fancy top rated restaurant and as the train arrived at the station Cary told me that we should invite this girl to have lunch with us. I was like “why?” We didn’t even know her and the restaurant was pricey but Cary said that she was a nice girl on her own, would probably not have the chance to go to such a nice place otherwise that we had two daughters and one day maybe a couple of strangers would be nice to one of them when they were traveling alone or studying abroad. So we did and we all had a nice time and the girl’s appreciation was profuse.
I thought about that as my best Camino buddies walked on ahead wishing that I had thought to invite them to a celebration lunch the next day.
Earbuds in position, I cried hard as I listened to Brown Eyed Girl. Cary was my brown eyed girl. If any song was our song that was it. And then I cried non stop listening to Bob Dylan’s twangy voice “shut the lights shut the shade, you don’t have to be afraid,” Eric Clapton “and then she asks me do I look alright and I say darling you look wonderful tonight” the Loving Spoonful, “do you believe in magic in a young girls heart” and on and on until I realized I had missed a turn and was more than a mile off the Camino.
I had to stop and sat sobbing as I listened to “Tears in Heaven.”
I was really spent emotionally and physically. I could feel new blisters on my feet. I was hot and sweaty and well off the path so I asked a local to direct me back to the Camino and how far it was to the Cathedral. He pointed the way and said it wasn’t more than another 3 or 4 kilometers.” “3 or 4 kilometros mas?!” I asked and he said with a shrug and a smile, “no es mucho mire la distancia que ya cubrió” (Its not much look how far you have come already)
“Buen Camino” I said less than whole heartedly.
By the time I got to the Cathedral at about 7:45 pm, including my missteps, I had walked about 26.6 miles, (43 kilometers) a 12 hour marathon.
I deliberately looked down as I went through the entrance to the Parador. It wasn’t in me at that point to look for Cary and not find her standing there.
The bell hop took my ginormous bag up to the room and opened the door for me. I was surprised to find a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a note in the room waiting for me.
Who would send me flowers? Could the hotel possibly provide this as an amenity for all their guests? I opened the note and saw it was from Eva and the people in the office at Follow the Camino who had booked my tour. They had been reading my blog posts. It was such a nice and unexpected gesture. Thank you Eva.
I asked for a 6:45 am wake up call so I could be early at the Pilgrims office.
I recited the Shema and added some extra words of appreciation to the lord above who gave me Cary, my beautiful children and brought me to this day.
I thought about how much Cary loved these places and how nice it would have been if we were together and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
G-d bless you always Carebear
Buen Camino