It's 4.53am, that's time to rise in pilgrim land. Lucy and I have a late start 6am, so finally time to blog! Who would have thought being a pilgrim was full time!
So here's the update since we arrived in Leon by train with a bad leg.
Who knew the town would be at 96% capacity due to a festival? (Those that had done a smidge of research I'd suspect, and possibly the lady at the tourist office). After a serious wifi session at a cafe, we found an amazing very central completely overpriced but brilliant hotel....with a balcony in the heart of the old town! The concierge couldn't do enough for us, it was like fawlty towers. During the proceeding 2 nights he came into our room 5 times, in the end he was running coffee and tea out to us on the terrace. Kiwi charm and mystique goes a long way in Spain..although I also suspect he was curious if we were a couple, as we were sharing a bed.
Leon itself is a fun, vibrant city with much to offer in tapas, history, shopping and a general buzz. Great place to take some time out.
Ok, so here's the leg update.... I managed to book in to see a physiotherapist on Friday, Roberto, who spoke English. This is a small miracle. Not only did he work magic on my leg providing some sweet relief, he kindly said he would open the clinic up in Sunday just so I could have another session! Wahoo. He then asked me on a date.
Of course I gracefully accepted informing I could do lunch, not breakfast as he had suggested with a smile.
Some things do not get lost in translation.
After a night of luxury at The Parador Sunday evening, we trotted out of town on Monday, leg taped feeling confident facing a small 20k day. I sent my bag on ahead to lighten the load, so we'd had to pick an albergue to send it to. This can be a dangerous exercise locking in accomodation sight unseen, but the reference of a pool was to much to pass up, and being called "Casa de Jesus" how bad could it be.
Very bad as it turns out. It was more from Jesus' stoning and death time then from the resurrection.
With an offer to "write on the wall and leave your pilgrim message for all" over the years it a) very clearly indicated the walls were never cleaned and b) felt like a soviet squat.
Coupled by the fact the pool was empty and had what appeared to be bullet holes in the side, the bar being home to all the local derelicts, my fear of becoming sewn into a human centipede in a back yard shed was feeling quite real. On the flip side my leg had made it through the day.
Never fear, being the solution focused team we are we hatched a plan. Night walking. This cunning plan meant we would avoid the accommodation on offer, the heat and finally see the stars in Spain. So high on new spirits we set about getting organised, which consisted of us telling the only other pilgrim in the hostel our plans.
Well, turns out she was from a country we had never heard of! The Faroe islands. Population 48,000, consisting of 18 islands, 17 habituated, with their own language. Not only this but they eat pilot whale, essentially marry within the realms of the same gene pool and slaughter their own meat (sheeps head being the delicacy). Add into the mix she was about our age and a pastor who drank, smoked and had tattoos this created some intrigue. Naturally we chatted and probed questions as evening fell resulting in our nightwalking plans getting somewhat delayed. In the end we took a quick sleep risking becoming human centipedes, rising at 4.30am to walk under the light of the full moon. Now I can truly say, Cat Stevens I have seen the moonshadows you describe and it is quite something indeed to experience, I too would have written a song to honour them if you didn't get there first.
Eleven hours of walking with little shade we kept our spirits high with loads of laughs at each other's expense and thankfully our bodies carried us with grace and stamina.
Our destination Astorga was a delightful somewhat hilltop village, and we rolled in tired and hungry and in need of showers.
I managed to see another physio who didn't speak English but again did pain relief work on my leg. He ended our session with a full embrace and kiss on the cheek...this may be the norm for physios in Spain? I'm still unclear.
The next day as we headed out of our 6th scenic rustic village for the day, my day bag broke. Apparently the $12 Euro investment wasn't all I thought. So with 7ks to the next scenic rustic village we got our MacGyver on (Yes!!!) cue song.
The result, me with a hobo stick looking like She Rambo, mimicking the necklace Zoe gave me predeparture. Karen walker eat your heart out.
Next we headed to the highest point on the Camino. This is marked with a large cross and a massive pile of rocks. The symbolic nature of the rock is that it represents parts of self you would like to surrender, things you would like to let go or be released from. You carry a rock your entire pilgrimage to drop at this location. Quite literally you "drop the rock" that has been your burden, reminder or weighing you down. As they say "There's no room for the new unless we let go of the old". I had 3, Lucy had none. Enough said. No wonder my leg hurt.
I realise this is a long post, and there are just 3 more things I wanted to say before I sign off for the day.
1) In the last few days we have encountered a huge number of new pilgrims that joined at Leon. They are clean, fresh, not weathered, and VERY fast on the trail bouncing past saying "Burn Camino" before rushing on. Our initial judgement on them being the old broken pilgrims (slow down, enjoy the journey, it's not a race, if only they knew what we knew...) reminds me of the judgement I can not only put on others but also put on myself. This can be the exact thing that separates me from you if I allow it too, it can also be my window to change.
The new kids are still annoying though, and Lucy and I know best.
2) There is a saying I learned along the way after a great discussion on the word Surrender. In Spain they look at the word Surrender and explain it by the 3 "r's" it contains.
The first R stands for Resistance. Definition: Refusal to accept or comply with something. Hmm this sounds familiar.
The second R which comes succinctly after the first, is Resignation. Definition: the acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable.
The final R which doesn't occur immediately but will ALWAYS follow at some point is Restoration. I've gone with the biblical meaning for this one, as Spain is heavily catholic. Definition: to receive back more than has been lost to the point where the final state is greater than the original condition. The main point is that someone or something is improved beyond measure.
Annnnd thirdly to wrap it up with this in mind I have had quite a bit of time to ponder my leg injury.
It slowed me down when I wasn't listening to my body (ignoring it) to the point of a grinding halt. (Resistance)
I had to come to a pretty swift decision and acceptance that I needed to stop and deal with it, even though that wasn't the decision I wanted to make. (Resignation)
Since that day, I have found its kept me very slow at times, forcing some humility into me, ensuring I don't race. It's grounded me (sometimes with pain) into absolute present moment and ensured I get to enjoy the scenery, the smells, time alone and time with others. It also saved me a good $90 on a mindfulness course in Auckland. (Restoration).
In case you are wondering I did not arrive at this attitude because I am a light wonderful person who says mantras and meditates. Quite the opposite. It's because I can't stand people who whinge and moan. Ugh. Nothing more annoying. Because of this I really try to refuse to become one, as I have to spend a lot of time with me! As my favourite uncle has said many times "the rule is: no whinging unless you have a solution". And possibly the best quote I've encountered yet was from a family friend (Trent) while parenting...simply put " No blood, No tears".
What a treat, on a dreary Wellington morning. Today I will take with me your 3 R's and see how that translates into the politicl mindstorm of our Capital City. Much love and graciousness x
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