Walked about 21-22 kms today and the feet are doing well now. Last nights Albergue was fantastic. Beautiful gardens and such a warm and friendly place.
Eduardo was just so much fun. Had dinner with Pastor a Bob and Gerard, and we walked together again today. When it came to a fork in the road, Bob chose the scenic route by the river but Gerard and I chose the 2km less route by the road. It was long and straight but we had some interesting stops. Gerard pulls a cart hooked onto his jeans as he has a crook leg. Pretty cool way to do the Camino!
We came across what we thought were frogs, but apparently they were birds mating. We couldn’t see them, just heard them….But I can’t upload the recording. Further on, we came across a man parked on the side off the road giving out lollies to the pilgrims. Questionable in Australia, but quite a normal thing for Spain! (See random photo above stuck in between the others).
Next we came across an Albergue with a beautiful garden with some donkeys grazing, so we decided to stop for lunch.They wandered straight over to Gerard’s cart and wanted to be hooked up. They also tried to eat his leather boots! We sat down. 3 dogs, 5 chooks and 3 big geese wandered around as well and the people were so lovely. The ?owner has Parkinson’s and was trying hard to communicate. He reminded me so much of Steve when he was sick and I teared up. It was hard. I just wanted to hug him! He took me inside and showed me all his paintings on the wall- no longer able to paint, and it was easy to see he was upset but so proud. We fed the donkeys and he took me around the corner to a mural he had painted on the wall and asked me to take a photo.
I was really touched by this beautiful man and I was sad to leave, but we were meeting Bob in the next town. Now sharing a room with Gerard in Villalcazar De Sirga. A bit tired tonight, but such a great day. We have to push on tomorrow to reach Leon by Saturday coz we are meeting some others for dinner at the Parador. I’ve also booked in as a treat to stay the night there.
Margaret Caffyn 