Well, we know people are praying for us – again your prayers are answered! It was cool all morning and early afternoon, and now that our time on the Meseta is near to its end, we are feeling so very thankful! We walked 14 miles today, and, from the best we can tell, our high was in the upper 70s. How can this be?!?! Really, now! We had threatening skies, but got into the village of Hospital de Orbigo before any raindrops have fallen. Our beautiful Hostel is the orangish building on the left at the end of this spectacular bridge. We are on the top floor, so imagine the view! With the bridge lit up tonight (we hear that they do this) there will be a later addition to the blog most certainly!
View from my window:
We were given 2 options today. Quicker path, or longer scenic path. We took the quicker path. Here is a dose of reality:
:
For the die-hard backpacker, this would not have been the best choice because indeed, it went alongside a very busy highway. It was basically like the Falls Church Route 7 in No. Va. Going into the big cities, understandably, we’ve had a bit of this. But for the must part we are delighted that we’ve been primarily in the countryside.
Why did we make this choice? We are planners. And we are trying to put ourselves in an advantageous place in the mountains in 2-3 days. We see the huge mountains in the distance and can’t wait to take them on, once again. These are going to be tough, we know it. We are energized by the cool weather and relatively easy time we’ve had on the Meseta. Was this the best move? Will we find good lodging? Of this we are not absolutely sure. But then again, this unknown is part of our adventure.
We spent a good deal of time towards the end of our walk designing our “ideal albergue.” Mine would be called “Paz y Sombra” (Peace and Shade) and Mary’s would somehow involve “Mariposa” – Butterfly.
We know that we will begin to see new faces, and that some of our initial group we will not see again. Many Europeans do the Camino in sections – 2 weeks one summer, 3 weeks the next – until they finish it. It’s sad because we didn’t get to say goodbye to the early pilgrims that began with us. Some pilgrims started in Leon just yesterday.
To officially complete the pilgrimage, the minimum to complete is the last 100 KM – basically the last 5 days. We hear at that point it gets very, very crowded. School and tour groups join in. And as the anticipation rises, it can get a little frustrating because, for the most part, we are walking much of the time alone. We’ll deal with that when it gets here.
At this point, we are anxious to return to the mountains!
Tonight I amazed even myself! My crazy little plastic fork/spoon/1-inch blade actually sliced a tomato! I had a great salad in a ziplock bag.