A Day on the Camino

Awake in Hospital de Orbigo at 6:30am to the sound of the middle-aged French pilgrims in the bunks beside getting up and out of bed. Decide to "sleep in" until 7:15am or so. Up and out of bed, look for earplug that seems to have fallen out of one ear in the night. Give up looking. Go to the bathroom and throw some water on the face. Assess the clouds. Change shirt and put on jacket. Eat chocolate croissant purchased yesterday afternoon and refill water bottle. Say farewell to 70-something Canadian from Deep River, who you first met in Saint Jean 19 days earlier. Quick note in the journal. Socks and boots on, and out the door by 8am to avoid getting kicked out.

Walk a few kilometers on a nice dusty path through a field, en route to Astorga. Pass through the first little town, but stop at a bar in the second at around 9AM (about 5km or so) for an espresso (1 Euro), use of the facilities, and to take off a sweater. Back on the road. Meet up with a Dutch guy from the auberge, who started his pilgrimage yesterday in Leon. Trade stories about how we heard of the Camino, what we "do" back at home (he turns out to be an urban design-renewal consultant) and the like. He´s the faster walker, so after awhile he goes on ahead.

Spot Astorga´s cathedral on the horizon, now about 6-7 km (or 100 minutes or so away) and laugh and nod at some random graffiti on one of the signs that says: "Good speed is your speed." Consider taking some photos, decide against it. Begin the slow descent down into the town before Astorga, pass through it, and continue walking. More of the random, early morning thinking about nothing in particular that has become so enjoyable. Keep looking at the sky and hoping it doesn´t rain. Think about Greece.

Reach Astorga around 11:45am, pass through the town and the main square. Admire Gaudi´s "Museo de los Caminos" from the outside, as it is closed for the day, while eating the second Mars bar of the day and taking some more water on a park bench in the cathedral plaza. Consult the guidebook on the kilometers walked to date, about 17 or so, a nice start. Admire Astorga´s cathedral, especially the carvings near the entrance, but decide against a photo due to all the scaffolding on the second tower. Decide on lunch in the next town, and so get moving again around 12:15pm. More random thinking, about the future, walking, nature, the way the finches fly, if I will be able to watch tomorrow´s Champions League match.

After about another hour or so, arrive in Murias de Rechivaldo and pop into "Bar Felix" for a bocadillo (sandwich - 3 Euro) and to rest the feet for 20 minutes or so. Choose the "tortilla frances" which turns out to be an omelette in a big roll - perfect. Laugh silently at the absurdity of being in this random small town bar, where the Spanish version of Wheel of Fortune is playing on the television and an older woman is sitting in the corner yelling out potential answers to no-one. One contestant seems particularly stupid. Pay, use the facilities, and leave.

Off toward the next little place, Santa Catalina de Samoza. Pass a Japanese guy you have seen off and on for a week, smile and wave. Think about whether to continue living in furnished places in Halifax, saving always for more travel, or whether-when to actually break down and buy a place. Astorga now about 8km in the distance, so get out the camera, turn and take a photo. Random, broken conversation on the outskirts of town with a guy making walking sticks. As it is about 2pm or so, consider finding a bed, but end up just walking through the town, as the rain continues to hold off and there is another town about 75 minutes ahead. Continue to marvel at the lack of rain despite the ominous clouds ahead. Note more Spanish windmills turning in the distance and think about the terms of the power purchase agreement governing the electricity. Think about the fact that it was a month today - the 27th - that I left the office and Halifax. One month down and Five to go, then.

Feet now beginning to hurt. Rejoice at the sight of the churchtower over the hills of El Ganso. Pass by sheep being herded into a field and arrive at a bizarre "Cowboy Bar" that seems out of place for the town but is heavily decorated and has an open fire burning, now around 3:45pm or so. Pop in for a beer and some croissants (2 Euro) and take off the boots and socks and warm up by the fire. Again examine the guidebook and decide to brave the last 7 km to the more major city of Rabanal del Camino. Read the sports section of today´s Leon paper. Stamp the pilgrim Credential. Get the Ipod out and put on the sweater and splash pants for the last stretch. Moving again around 4:10pm.

Enjoy the last surge of energy and the happy knowledge that more ground than expected will be covered today, since tomorrow brings a climb over the highest pass in the Camino. Rain begins to fall slightly, but it is almost welcome. Spot the town some kilometers away and sing along to the tunes, no one in sight in either direction except for the random car on the roadside (some of the favorite songs for the camino include "Fool in the Rain" by Zepplin, "Galway Girl" by Steve Earle, "Field Behind the Plow" by Stan Rogers, and "I Feel It All" by Feist). Note the sign of 2.2 km to Rabanal and pass along the dirt road which is lined by a chain-link fence in which people have inserted wood at right-angles to form hundreds and hundreds of crosses. Contemplate again the nature of the Camino and religion. Arrive at no particular answer. Think about how I should really get a sailboat before buying a car. Think about how I should learn to sail. Think about committing to learn Spanish.

Arrive in Rabanal at 5:40pm and decide on the private Auberge, which looks more lively and is the same price for the bunk for the night (5 Euro). Broken conversation in French and Spanish with the two auberge keepers, one explaining to the other why some Canadians know French. Find bed and indulge in shower. Hang clothes up to air them out (too late to wash). Check the Internet (2 Euro) and write blog entry...

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That´s not atypical, although at 37km or so, it is a bit more than the customary 25-30km. Some days, depending on the feet and the planning for the days ahead, it is really enjoyable puttering along in the afternoon. Other times rest is required, or there is a bigger town to take a look at.

It is now 7:30pm, so I am going to sign off, pay for the 45 minutes of Internet time, and find a restaurant in the town that serves a "Menu del Peregrino", basically a bottle of wine, bread, two courses (first is soup, salad, or pasta; second is generally meat and french fries), and a desert of yogurt or creme caramel. It always costs between 8-10 Euro, and tonight should be the same, which makes the total expenses for the day about 23 Euro, which is slightly less but has been around the amount spent the first 18 days. Then I will get back to the auberge before the door shuts for lights out at 10pm, talk with a few other pilgrims or just read (more likely read tonight, because I am more tired than usual, and also since I walked more today, most of the people I know from the previous few days are back a town or too).

And that is as good as I can describe what this has really been like. It is a crazy little routine that is immensely easy and at the same time challenging, day after day, and similar in its routine but also fairly varied in the sights and sounds and people.

It is, for lack of a better word, "good". Very, very good.