Spain
Villovieco

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    • Day 20

      Day 19, Fromista to Carrion de los Conde

      June 11, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      This morning we fell in with Sheryl and Janice who have only one more day on the Camino. It was good to have their company and discuss the Canadian health service, the danger of meeting a coyote on your morning walk to the coffee shop and what Janice might do in retirement. We chose a slightly longer but much gentler route which allowed us to skirt a river rather than a major road.
      My feet are doing well but in the interest of full disclosure I thought I’d share photographic evidence of my daily routine to prevent toe blisters. My toes start the morning looking normal and then each one is bound up in a tedious and time-consuming process which so far has kept toe blisters at bay.
      We separated from our friends at Villalcazar de Sirga where we stopped at the fortress-like church of the White Virgin (who bestows blessings on passing pilgrims). After pondering the artwork on the altarpiece we resolved to study it in more detail later (though this may never happen).
      The final 6km were today’s hardest. It was hot, the landscape flat and a bit monotonous and our path ran alongside the road. Maybe this is why people struggle on the Meseta. I was wholeheartedly thankful for clouds - most importantly for shade but also for visual interest.
      We reached Carrion de los Condes just as a Corpus Christi procession was passing through. The children who’d taken their first communion 40 days ago were the central attraction, walking on streets decorated with cut grass, rose petals and (we thought) dyed sawdust. The whole town seemed to be celebrating.
      Soon afterwards we reached our hotel, a rather lovely former Cluny monastery, with its own splendid cloisters and church. When the heavens opened we were hugely grateful to be indoors. Before dinner, the sun reappeared and we returned to the town to hear a small group of nuns lead some hymn singing. Each pilgrim was asked to introduce him or herself and explain why they were doing the Camino. The singing itself was nothing special but the whole experience was affecting, like so many things on the Camino. Fiona and I went to mass and then returned to the hotel for dinner.
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    • Day 20

      Hit me - 50km of thinking distilled

      April 11 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      In the great Blackjack game of life, I will 'stay' unless the 'hit' is virtually guaranteed.

      If you don't play Blackjack, another way of saying that is that I am very easily satisfied with what I consider to be as good as it's going to get. And my bar for that is, on reflection, quite low.

      I live carefully, with a gentleness infused with worry - stepping mindfully to not upset a balance, a temper, myself.

      I am not ambitious, I am not confident. I know I am clever and kind but I have low self esteem generally. I am prone to playing it safe, because the gap between what is and what could be is one I am scared of falling into. I avoid the edge.

      Depending on the day, I view this collection of attributes as lazy or humble, cowardly or honourable. I am simultaneously uncomfortable and proud of my ability to accept, and appreciate, very little. I am a glass-half-full person because I wouldn't have said anything if it was a quarter. Half is a gift. More is greed.

      The Camino as a teacher is a well-worn metaphor, but lessons *are* abundant. So many times, I've been reluctant to move on. I have been with lovely people in a lovely hostel having a lovely time in a lovely town. Yet the Camino urges us to keep going, and rewards those that do with more wonderful things.

      It is showing me that this is not as good as it gets. There is more good to be got. Do not, literally or figuratively, settle. At least not out of fear, anyway. Ask. Receive. Accept.

      I hope I am brave enough to take this lesson home.

      ****

      Disclaimer: obviously at no point in the above am I talking about my base level privilege of which I am aware and grateful. I'm not looking a gift horse remotely in the mouth when it comes to being housed, fed, healthy, safe, and employed.
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    • Day 15

      Tag 14 Carrión de los Condes 15 km

      May 17, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 3 °C

      Heute zeigte sich der Himmel von seiner strahlenden Seite, während ein eisiger Wind mich auf meiner 15 Kilometer langen Wanderung begleitete. Die letzten Tage waren anstrengend genug, also beschloss ich, es etwas ruhiger angehen zu lassen und mir eine kleine Auszeit zu gönnen.

      Während der Wanderung bemerkte ich, dass sich meine Joggingschuhe langsam, aber sicher auflösten - keine Wunder also, dass ich Blasen bekam. Doch der Pilgergott hatte ein Einsehen und führte mich am Zielort direkt zu einem Pilgerfachgeschäft. Dort fand ich das seltene Glück, Wanderschuhe in meiner Größe zu ergattern, was in diesem Ort ungefähr so wahrscheinlich ist wie ein Sechser im Lotto.

      Jetzt bleibt nur zu hoffen, dass das Pilgermenü heute Abend besser ist als gestern und der Pilgergott mir morgen ein Bett zukommen lässt. Mein Lauffreund, der mir ein paar Kilometer voraus ist, hat heute Abend weniger Glück und wird wohl bei frostigen 3 Grad unter den Sternen schlafen müssen. Da bin ich doch froh, dass mir das erspart bleibt und ich mich in meiner kuscheligen Unterkunft ausruhen kann.
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