A loss for words.

I could ramble on about our 13+ mile walk from Leon but tonight I am at a loss for words. We have landed at the most amazing B&B's run by the sweetest person I think in all of Spain. Her name is Mercedes and she and her husband are the inn keepers. When we asked about laundry she said she would do it if we made a donation to her fund that she gives to the poor. She also cooks and serves dinner. The meal was without question the most delicious food we have had in Spain. 

We are staying here with another American couple from Portland, Oregon and a couple from France who speak no English. There is also a lovely woman from Santa Cruz, CA who we met earlier and have stayed with in several hotels. Without anyone asking Tracey shared with everyone that she lost her 20 year old son to melanoma. She walks by herself most days. She said when she gets home her husband and 20 of her son's friends are going to meet her at the airport in San Francisco. She said she is not afraid alone on the Camino because the worst thing that could ever happen to her has already happened.

After hearing her story I have no more words. Tomorrow I walk continuing to count my blessings.

Feast day in Leon

Today was our scheduled rest day and it turned out to be a holiday celebrating, I think, the patron saint of Leon. The company who we booked our trip with arranged for us to have a guided tour of the cathedral with a lady who spoke English. Alleluia ! She was amazing and so knowledgeable. The cathedral was built in the 13th century and only took 50 years to build which is amazing considering it took several centuries to build the one we visited in Burgos. Thirty years ago they started restoring the stained glass windows and they think it will be another twenty years before they finish. 

Our guides name was Maria de Camino and we were able to ask her all the questions we have been pondering. School here does not start until 10:00 am so that explains why children can be out so late in the evening. We asked her where the crowds were going every evening and she said they have no destination, they are just out walking and hoping to meet their friends. When we told her we ate our evening meal at 5 or 6 she could not believe that we could sleep so long on an empty stomach!

While I spent a few hours knitting Charlie went exploring and found a church with a pilgrim mass at 7:00 and we decided to go. The church was the Real Basilica San Isidoro. This church was very different from the Cathedral. The Cathedral was built in the Gothic style and the basilica was Romaneque. The mass was entirely in Spanish so did not understand a single word but since all masses follow a similar rhythm we knew when to sit and stand. After mass all the pilgrims were invited to the front for a special blessing. It was lovely and much more what I had been expecting on this journey. Maria told us that there was also a priest shortage here and that one priest might have to cover 5 or 6 churches. That may be why we have found so few unlocked churches.

Our rest days are over and tomorrow we start the walk towards Santiago again. I am praying for sunshine and happy feet!

Evening in Leon

We arrived in Leon by taxi as planned. According to our guide book walking into and out of this city might be a dangerous activity. I have heard tales of someone getting hit attempting to cross the four lane highway. The timing was good for this limping pilgrim. Tomorrow we have a guided tour of the sights of the city. It will be fun to be a tourist for a day.

Today we finally had paella and it was quite tasty. I realize that I have trouble eating things that arrive with their eyes intact. The paella had little shrimp with heads and the fish I ordered for my second course came looking at me too! We ate our big meal around two because they don't serve dinner in many places until 8:30 or even 9:00 and that is just too late to eat so much food.

It is fascinating to be in this culture because it is so foreign to anything I have ever known. Everyday around two everything closes except the bars. If you walk by a bar you will see tables of men playing cards. At 5:30 the communities come alive and everyone is out walking the streets. Today it was raining and they were still out! Hundreds of people with umbrellas all moving in mass. We tried to follow the crowds to see where they were going but there did not seem to be a destination, just walking even in the rain.

In my attempt to become the Imelda Marcos of The Camino I bought a pair of inexpensive hiking sandals that have a much thicker sole than my sandals. These sandals would not be found on the pages of Vogue magazine but I am hoping they will do the job unless it rains.

106.3 miles traveled only about 200 to go!

Walled town

 Yesterday we took a taxi ride to the town of Massilla. We shared the cab with a woman from Finland who was going to take a bus to Leon and then go home. She was ending her Camino walk because of shin splints. I could not help but wonder what the pilgrims during the Middle Ages did when they were injured?

Massilla was a small village where we stayed in a rather run down hotel with a very grumpy miserable owner. The Internet service was very poor so I gave up trying to post.

During the Middle Ages the village was surrounded by a wall for protection from invaders. A large part of the wall was still there and was the only interesting part of yet another poor little stop along the way.

After arriving in Massilla we found the first church that was open and we could enter without paying a euro. It was a simple church unlike the massive cathedral we saw in Burgos.

After Charlie performed surgery on my miserable appendage once again, I spent the day off my feet napping and knitting and by this morning I was pain free! 

Earlier this morning we once again traveled by taxi to Leon where we will spend two days. We had previously scheduled an extra day here and the timing is perfect. I hope to be totally healed and ready to get back on the Camino by Tuesday morning!

Grateful

I would  not exactly say I walked from Sahagun to El Burgo Ranero. Limped, hopped, dragged, or crawled are words that would describe my trip. Our itenerary said we were going to walk 6.2 miles but some one made a mistake and the real distance was more than 12. My lower appendage that I do not want to name was seriously angry. We have decided to move by taxi today and most everyone buses tomorrow because the guide book encourages pilgrims to not try to walk into Leon because it is too dangerous. On top of that we already had a planned rest day in Leon. Three days off my feet should hopefully make a big difference.

As I walked yesterday I decided to write this blog about all the things I am grateful for and not dwell on my little problem. The number one thing I am grateful for is my kind, loving companion. This walk was not his idea but he quietly walks every day and makes no complaints. Some days as

he walks  prays his rosary. I have never asked what he is praying for because I am not sure I want to know! 

I am grateful for the rest of of my body which is strong and never complains

I am grateful for the lovely, kind people we have met and for the luxury of traveling in another country and learning so much about their culture.

I am grateful for all the concern and advice from family and friends who are following our walk. 

Lastly I am thankful for good beds, good food and the wonderful taxi that I will ride in today!

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Caldadilla to Sahagun

Our big plan for today was to get up at 5:30 and start walking by 6:15 and find breakfast in a village along the way. As many of you know I am not an early riser but I was willing to give it a try so we could avoid walking during the heat of mid day.  The first glitch in that plan came when Charlie set his alarm for 5:30pm instead of am! I rolled over at 6:45 so plan A was off. It turned out to be a good move because we had a wonderful breakfast with eggs and meat etc. It was great fuel for the 13.9 miles ahead.

I had to walk in my sandals again today because even my new shoes were not comfortable.  The sandals worked quite well because our route today was

flat. As I was walking today I decided that from now on I am going to ignore my feet. I have been giving them entirely too much attention that they do not deserve. I am going to treat them as best I can and they will heal in time. No more foot talk on this blog. Instead I am going to focus on how strong my legs and arms become and how little bio freeze I need! 

The walk today was delightful. We had a nice breeze and the best part was no bugs! The landscape has changed in very subtle ways but very obvious if you are walking. Now we have trees to provide some shade. Today we also passed through three or four little villages which broke up the monotony of the endless dirt path.

With about 3 miles to go we started walking with a man named Ted Reed who graduated from SLU around 1968. This is a small world!

Tomorrow is almost a rest day, only 6 miles. I feel a knitting day ahead of.

Buen Camino!

Carrion to Caldadilla

The 10 mile hike from Carrion was pretty much the same landscape. Endless miles of farmland with no farm house, silos or barns. It seems that the farmers must all live in the villages and we have no idea where the crops are stored. They must harvest and immediately send their crops to market.

We were supposed to get a free breakfast at a restaurant down the street from our hotel but when we arrived it was not open. No problem we had protein bars and a few oranges with us so we started off.

During the walk we shared our oranges with a shy young man from Estonia. His English was quite good and he told us that he liked Americans because when Russia threatens to invade his country America helps them. It was nice to hear a positive remark because on a few occasions we have been walking and have overheard someone say "Americano." Not sure in what context they were using the word and did not ask. We also spent some time with a young couple from Winnipeg. She is walking the entire 500 miles and her husband has flown in towalk with her for awhile.

I made a real effort to drink more as per everyone's advice and it made a huge difference. I tried out the new shoes and my toes were quite happy but my heel, not so much. By the time we arrived I had a sizeable blister on my left heel.  The recommended treatment is to run a needle and thread through it to drain the fluid. I had the needle and thread but we needed some antiseptic. The only store in town was a Mini Mart a lovely young mother was running in one room in her home. Of course she spoke no English and our Spanish consists of about ten words. Using sign language we could make her understand what we needed.  She pulled down from the shelf a box containing a liquid she promised would do the trick. She also had quite a supply of hypodermic needles! I assured her that I had a needle. Charlie skillfully ran the thread through the blister and then we sent Dr. Dan a text asking if it was time for antibiotics and he gave us the go ahead. I am sure in a few days my poor feet will be as good as new.

In every town we stay in every restaurant has a pilgrim menu. For about 10€ each you can get a three course meal with unlimited wine and beer. Some meals are better than others but all have been satisfactory.

Last night we dined with three lovely ladies from Minnesota and three real characters from California. About three days ago one of the women from CA saw a small snake on the road and she decided to pick it up. It turned out to be a poisonous snake and she ended up hospitalized on IV's! Her hand was still nearly black and somewhat swollen.you certainly meet all kinds of people here!