La Mesa

Day 28
I actually overslept this morning, unbelievable, right, in a dorm, but felt so good when I woke up! The terrain was the hardest yet, with a huge ascent for the first half day, and a rain-wind storm at the top; tough going. But it was familiar mountainous walking, like the Alps perhaps, and I was alone ALL day ... apart from the moment I missed a turning, walked way down a forest path, and heard a voice shouting all sorts of things of which the only thing I understood was 'chica'! It was the forest ranger who had watched me wander off, came after me in his vehicle and gave me a lift back to the road. Rescued! Then I walked with an elderly Australian man for several miles until he stopped off at his accommodation; I sang my way downhill to my hostel. The cows are always intrigued when I sing.

I was loving the patterns, tones and textures today. Fewer flowers but more lichen, moss and ferns. Loving the cloud, the sudden low visibility, the spit and blast of the changeable weather, the subdued light into the distant hills, the loneliness. Loved the ‘taixu’ tree. 1000 years old. Warm, there, safe.

Just before bed I experienced a hostel classic. Three friends at one end of the 24 bed dorm opened the window, creating a draught; the two ladies beyond me but 4 beds away from the window area went to close it. Twice, both. Or was it three times. The 'Openers' objected, loudly, in bad English, the 'Closers' responded in similarly bad English, neither listening to the other of course, and no 'please can we... because..'. To and fro, voices raised, shouting, foreign incomprehensible aggression flying over my bed as each expressed their anger; the Closers went to get the Host who marched in and clapped it shut, muttering and tutting. The window-hoggers whose German I understood then worked out that if they lowered the external shutters the draught would be less noticeable, so plotted to open up again later ... which they did, I'm glad to say. Hostel muff is awful.

It was a cartoon, would have been funny if it were not a really uncomfortable caricature of people's inability to treat each other as humans sharing the planet. Isn't it just like life? Sigh...Read more