13 miles
Slowed way down, loosened up my shoelaces, and leaned heavily on my poles today. Someone told me about a topical ibuprofen cream they sell for 2 euros at the pharmacies. It helped the swelling in my foot quite a bit (ice is very hard to come by).
I am quite fatigued tonight so I am having a hard time remembering specifics about the day. The landscapes change over each hill and we are getting a sense lately for the vast numbers of kilometers we are covering. Maybe this evening I will talk about a few generalities.
We now have many fairly ironclad routines. We wake up before all the other pilgrims and slip silently to the kitchen to make ourselves coffee and read the guidebook about the day's hike. We return to the stuffy sleeping room at 6:45 and pack up in 15 minutes along with everyone else: sleeping bag on bottom of pack, then toiletries and sundries in their zip lock bags, then 2 small clothing bags, then the food. We eat some fruit and plain Greek yogurt, put on our filthy walking shoes at the door and are on our way some time after 7 in the semi-light of dawn. It has been cool, rainy, or windy most every day so we have on lots of layers and gloves. After walking in silence for an hour or so, we stop at the next village for cafe con leche (and a pit stop!). Lunch is what we can buy from shops (love the 30 cent bagged olives and the nut-filled huge chocolate bars and all sorts of yummy tins of seafood!). Then we try to keep ahead of the masses so we can get beds at the better albergue. We arrive at about 3, lay on the bed for a few moments, then shower and wash our clothes. A quick snack of fried corn nuts and an orange, then off to explore the town (usually a cathedral or a castle), then we buy our 1.6 euro bottle of wine and make dinner (see pics below). Lots of visiting takes place with other pilgrims. It's getting harder and harder to squeeze in time to write! Scott and I are both fast asleep at about nine, but only after shoving in the ear plugs as far as they will go and wearing eye patches against the light.
That's the routine. A few other notes - Folks say Cowboy took a bus ahead a ways. People have been quite alarmed by him and it has been difficult for us to meet people and have them associate us with him since we are both from Montana. One women said she would have called 911 about him if we were back in the states. The New Zealand ladies have become dear friends and they share lots of wonderful grandchildren and farming stories. So many wonderful folks with so many interesting lives...
Finally I will say that walking for 8 hours each day is a kind of peaceful meditation. Nothing seems that worrisome and life seems quite serene. The senses are heightened and we are in the moment. Day of the week, date, even time seem somewhat unimportant. I would be interested in reading more about pilgrimages and the short or long term effect on one's psyche. I have a feeling I am going to want to clean out my closet when I get home and de-clutter, at the very least.
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