we have a contender
last night there was a snorer quota of exactly 1:4 in our dormitory. equal to roncasvalles. but the volume and the groaning, gurgling, deep grumbling sounds, that suddenly were disrupted by a violent thump that made the floor and beds shake, when one of the snorers fell off his top bunk, were extraordinary!
hence, hornillos del camino will hereby be nominated to participate in the annual snoring world championships.
only good that i was prepared - my contemplation card for yesterday contained roughly the following: what is most likely to happen? rehearse for it, include the worst cases, when they do happen, which is unlikely, keep your inner peace and harmony.
penso que es util, si escribo algo en español cada día, entonces:
que va a suceder? prepárate para lo que va a ser, incluso el caso peor, a pesar de que no es probable, asi que si sucede, puedes mantener tú paz y armonia interior.
so, when i heard the guy falling out of bed and when he then wanted to go to the baño in our corner of the room (probably concussed), i simply showed him the way out of the dorm and returned to not-sleeping (because of the other snorer). now you know or should be able to calculate the number of beds in the dormitory. the guy got maurice and me worried, as to whether he would survive the night, the next day and all the way to santiago. i will report, should i see him again. more about maurice and his girlfriend further below.
i think eventually i did sleep a bit, and nevermind, i’m used to being a bit tired now every day, still enjoying the walk (very much actually).
i have some content to catch up on for yesterday. when leaving rabe de las calzadas, i passed by this little church, that somehow ended up being equally impressive as the cathedral in burgos. the reason being, that i met this old missionary sister, maria josé, and in translating from spanish to english for another pilgrim (bill from michigan) discovered, that all three of us had been in an african country to do charitable work. maria josé spent 32 years in the congo, bill spent 6 months helping out with a friend’s project in malawi, and i have (so far) been in ghana for 4 stints of a fortnight each.
sister maria josé put her hand on my forehead and said a little prayer. now i feel safe again, walking into the next thunderstorm, should there be one over the next days. and she gave me this little medallón of the virgin mary that now lives in the same pouch as the contemplation cards.
today’s hike was from hornillos del camino to castrojeriz. an easy 22km, or so. even though i started late after a breakfast at the albergue, the rooster was still crowing. funnily, dinner yesterday and breakfast today was with another pilgrim from berlin köpenick - silva, 70+ who hikes the entire camino solo.
as i walk up into the hills, the skies are covered in clouds and mist, the wind turbines in the distance seem to be floating above the clouds somehow. wide and far views into the country.
i have a short conversation with evelin from new zealand / melbourne and her childhood friend melody froim taipeh, walking the camino together before they start their careers. the birds are having conversations too.
where is paul from suiza, when you need him? no idea what birds they are - feel welcome to let me know, should you know!
every now and then along the camino, one will find memorial sites for loved ones who have probably died along the camino or had a particular love for the camino.
the landscape is more or less flat now, interrupted by the occasional small aldea or village. the meseta lies ahead. the wind turns a bit chilly, the clouds heavier and heavier. it will probably rain later.
i head into an albergue / café off the side of the camino for a second coffee y una tostada.
here i meet astrid and maurice from the netherlands again. they spent the night sleeping (or awake) in the bunk next to me in hornillos.
we speak, about the type of people you meet on the camino, about snorers, about music, bands. ghana, oil paintings, photos. walking the camino with no particular end goal, being in the moment.
turns out, that maurice is frontman of a dutch hard rock band. bonebag alley if you want to look them up. astrid is a designer and photographer.
they head off again, and i do too. we will meet again in the next albergue.
the clouds are now really heavy with humidity and soon i have to put another layer on and also get the poncho out. not many additional photos now for the rest of today, because it now gets a bit wet. hence, i don’t stop in hontanas, and only briefly in san anton.
san anton, a ruin of a former monastery, still hosts a donativo albergue.
and here he is - paul from suiza, the 80 year old fast-walker. so far the oldest walker i’ve met on this camino. he may be the oldest, but he definitely is not the slowest. he must have overtaken me this morning, when i still tried to wake up from no sleep.
he might be the only pilgrim staying at san anton tonight - it is a bit cold, and there is no heating in their albergue. should i catch up with him tomorrow, i’m sure he will tell me all about it.
