Dédie à ma seule et unique soeur Louise. Friends may come and go, but your sister is always your sister. Your ties that
bind are always there through good times and bad. On n'est pas toujours d'accord, et a vrai dire on est rarement d'accord mais cela n'empêche pas que je l'aime beaucoup, ma petite soeur!
Notre premier vrai lever de soleil depuis Logrono -en partant de Hornillo, ce matin à 7h30. J'ai pu faire ma salutation au soleil comme il faut, au lever, et non juste à son apparition pour deux minutes.
On a marché 21 km, pour arriver à notre destination à 1H30. Enfin du temps pour se reposer.
We have been staying in private albergues, and paying roughly 20 Euros per night each, but it so worth it to have your own room and bathroom. You can still interact and meet other people in the same albergue, who are in the dormitories.
I need a good night's sleep, and that is very hard in dormitories. Not to mention, depending on the size of the room, the snoring, smell, stuffiness and sometimes stench, honest to God. Let us not forget the bedbugs either. Fortunately, so far so good for Nancy and me.
We are still hiking through the Meseta, with a 100 metre climb tomorrow, to Alto Mostelares, before getting back on the flat plains. Hope to be in the city of Leon in three to four days at the most. We are a little concerned that we may be running behind, since the heatwave cut into the number of km we could hike in a day. We shall see. We are still aiming to be in Santiago for September 28th.
We run into new and old friends on the Camino, like woven thread in a fabric. That is what makes THe Camino so special. We still haven't seen Ju again, but other people come in and out of our daily treks. Our friends from Holland and Sweden have decided to avoid the crowds of pilgrims who join the last 100 km of the pilgrimage, the latter in order to get their "certificate" that they have done the Camino. Our friends have chosen to take the train, and enter Santiago from the Portuguese part of the Camino, which is less traveled.
Our Albergue tonight is absolute heaven. It has a fountain to soak our feet, and beautiful outdoor terraces, not to mention a gorgeous room with our own bathroom. Tonight, at 8:30 we will be visiting their wine cellar, which is in a cave underneath the albergue (hostel).
Last night at dinner, which turned into a kind of fiesta because it was Nancy's birthday, I decided to share my video of the singing Italians. We were 13 people around the communal dinner table, representing 8 different nationalities. I explained my video in English, French and Spanish, and when everyone had appreciated how wonderful that "Camino" moment had been for me, one Spaniard said - Where are you from? When I said Canada, he said "What do you do?" He was curious no doubt because of the way I flipped back and forth between the three languages. When I answered in Spanish - "Yo soy profesora de idiomas.", there was instant spontaneous laughter all around. That explained it all!
The SPANISH Guardia Civil, which is the national police, have stepped up their patrolling of The Camino, on deserted stretches. This is the third day in a row we have seen their cars. It is no doubt in response to the abduction of a young Asian American woman this spring, in the Rabanal area of Spain, which we are approaching. I tell every woman I meet traveling alone, to be wary although El Camino is basically still very safe.
Thanks again to all of you who follow my blog, look at my pictures, share, and send comments. I am far from home (I actually don't really have a home), so it is really wonderful to hear news from all of you.
Lou, a woman orginally from Edmunston, is staying in the same Albergue tonight. She is a Michaud who lives in Montreal. Quite the coincidence, that today of all days, I meet someone from where you live, Lou.
Buenas noches, hermanita querida. You are a good, kind and giving person, and I am indeed honoured to call you my sister.
Avec amour et reconnaissance d'ou je suis ce soir - Castrojeriz, Espagne.
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