May 26, walking distance: 23 kilometres
Today I tried something different. I got up really, really, really late! I wanted to have a late start to be the last pilgrim to walk. Behind me was a long way of nothingness and people from Carrion de los Condes would take forever to catch up with me. So I thought being the last, I would be on my own all the way to Sahagún. Seems like it wasn’t a very original idea, since some people refused to get out of bed early as well. They all seemed to have the same plan! Brilliant.
I had to queue for the toilets and couldn’t even look in the mirror properly, because the bathroom was full of pilgrims. Normally they would have left at this hour, but not today. When I went to the bar to have a nice, long breakfast, I saw that Andy, the non-stop-talking American and the two guys, who I have directed to the nearest beer resource yesterday, were also sitting and enjoying their breakfast. I thought I had been rude enough last night, so I joined them. Strangely, I was in a different mood today. I felt much more talkative and this time it was me, who asked all the questions. Didn’t Andy tell me about a German book club in Washington D.C.? What on earth? Why wasn’t my journalistic ear shut last night? That’s pretty extraordinary. There is a bunch of Americans meeting up in Washington D.C. every month discussing German literature. In German! That’s something! Why wasn’t I interested in talking to Andy last night? Was my energy that low?
I want to have a book club too! It’s so much fun to discuss what you have read. Back in school, I always enjoyed the lessons when we discussed a book – it’s so interesting to hear other people’s views, feelings, opinions and interpretations on the book just read.
I also talked a little to the other two guys – who happen to be father and son from Norway. The father being 74 years old and the son thirty years younger. Today is a new day – and my perspective has changed. Gone is the moodiness, openness and fascination shine bright within me. These three guys seemed to be so chilled out – they hung out at the bar. Finally I wanted to make a move. I wanted to be the last to leave this village, but I planned to do that before the sun goes down. I said my goodbye, assuming that I will see them again very soon. A special and long goodbye I said to a Korean lady that I knew I would never see again. She is walking the camino backwards. She started at the same time as me, not in St. Jean, but in Santiago! Since we met in the middle of the camino, she will get to St. Jean once I am in Santiago. That’s different. I am amazed at how fascinating these people are and am angry with myself for not having been interested at all in it last night.
About walking I wrote in my diary that day: “It was an easy walking day for me. For a few days now I am absolutely pain-free. I have a huge blister though on my foot that is worrying me a bit and I need about half a kilometer to walk, but then my body gets warm and I’m in the flow. In the past two days I seemed to fly – the first 15 kilometers I usually walk really fast and it’s actually harder to walk at a slower pace. I was so slow in the first days! I’m passing by so many people ‘nowadays’. The last kilometers still are quite hard – today 23!” Here is some camino scenery from the day:
So, even though I planned to be the last one to leave the albergue and walk by myself without anyone else in sight, I flew and passed so many people, who started earlier than me and were just slower. I seemed to have found my rhythm…even with a blister that I got after having walked more than 30 kilometers that day after Burgos….and that blister is getting bigger and bigger.
I stopped to have a lunch in a tiny little village just before Sahagún. I ate a lot, because all that flying made me hungry. I also played around with the camera and took pictures of the animal friends, who hung out with me during my lunch break:
After an hour I continued the last bit of walk. It didn’t take long for the stomach pain to kick in. I am not sure if it was the food or if my bag was pressing against my stomach, which was busy digesting. I felt horrible. I didn’t make it to the centre of Sahagún. My plan had been to check into the albergue municipal, but was happy to find a rather beautiful albergue at the beginning of the town. I checked in to go to bed immediately and endure my horrible stomach pain. I felt sick.
the albergues beds hence resting place for stomach pain suffering little peregrinas
But who did I meet sitting outside the albergue, enjoying a cold beer? My Italian friend Stefano! I had first met him in Zubiri. He had cooked risotto for me, Neda, PJ, Jürg and Mark in Pamplona and then we lost him because of his bad knee pain. I have met him again a week later, but have lost him once again after he had to take yet another walking break in Santo Domingo due to his knee problems. I have heard from other pilgrims that he must have been very close by, either closely behind or in front of me and now I finally had him back. What a joy!
Me and Stefano being overjoyed to see each other again:
In my diary I wrote: “I like him so much, because he was part of my camino clique with Mark, so when I see and meet him, it feels like meeting my family. Plus, he is very attractive! – So the stomach pain, even though it was bad, annoying and hurtful, did lead me to Stefano. Always see the positive in everything.” Or to quote Monty Python: Always look on the bright side of life, dudu-dududududu!
It also was my fouth day without having my hair washed. For me that is quite an achievement. I normally wash my hair every second day. But on the camino it is not always too easy to wash long hair. You don’t want to wash it, when it is cold outside, as it might not dry quickly enough, or you really don’t want to wash it when there is only cold water available. I bought myself an awesome camino hat that covers my hair, but it also made me think: On the camino you are all sweaty, smelly, with messy hair – to cut a long story short: People just don’t look like they would be off to the disco on a night out. But does it matter that you smell or have messy, fatty hair? That you have not shaved your legs? Not at all. People are still interested in talking to me. In fact, I have the impression that men still feel attracted to me, even though I wouldn’t even walk around like this alone in my flat – with only the cats to see me. Here, how you look like, really doesn’t matter at all! Also, it feels like we are all a big camino family – not just a little group, but all us pilgrims.
I had been so moody last night, but today I felt very connected to every pilgrim. After the stomach pain was gone and the food was digested, I sat outside with Stefano and contemplated what to do for tomorrow. It was my birthday the next day. Should I check into this close-by hotel and have a day of rest for my birthday? But that would mean losing Stefano once again.
I went to take a walk around the little town, and ended up doing some serious stork stalking.
Someone told me to try out the pastry in Sahagún, it’s supposed to be delicious. So I found a nice bar, bought some nice looking pastry and took a seat outside overlooking a part of town. I took my first bite and nearly choked. IIiiiieeeeeeuuuhhh, what’s that? It’s disgusting. That delicious looking pastry tasted like a soap bar! I decided that it was my last bite! While I was still recovering from my pastry shock, Andy and the two Norwegians joined me. The father, Harald, declined my offer to have some of the famous and delicious pastry of Sahagún, due to his diabetes. But his son, also known as Jens, actually took a bite and his reaction nearly made me fall off a chair from laughing. Seems like I wasn’t the only one agreeing that Sahagún pastry is not what the doctor’s ordered.
The four of us had a big laugh this afternoon and I really have no clue why I was so furious about Andy and his lot the day before. They really seem to be cool people. It was then that I decided that I will spend my birthday walking, because I felt like I just had found myself some lovely friends.
The Yellow Arrow 