Friday, April 05, 2019

Don\'t let editors edit the life out of your sentences! — Isaac Asimov

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Cristinastutler https://bit.ly/2UDmuvi
Cristina

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Saturday, August 08, 2015

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Walking Days 8 & 9

In the morning, I awake early and find Juan Manuel has already put out breakfast. There is coffee, hot water for tea or cocoa. Slices of bread, various cookies and crackers, jam and butter and a large bowl of fruit are also on the table. It is 5:30 and people are already packed up and ready to start the day´s walk. I open the front door to see that it is still dark outside and Tom is sitting all wrapped up in our fleece sleeping bags. He gets up and says, "remind me to never sleep outside again!" When I ask why, he says it got really cold in the night and our gear is not made for the lower temperatures. He goes inside and promptly curls up on one of the mattresses and goes back to sleep. We all eat breakfast and people start saying their goodbyes as they head out of the door. One of the things you find as you walk the camino is how quickly people can form bonds with total strangers you might not ever see again. In a very small span of time, someone can make a profound impact on you. One such young man is named Martin. We have passed him several times in the last few days. The impression he makes on first glance is a fierce one and first impressions are quite judgmental. His head is shaved and his body is covered in tattoos. Unlike most tattoos, these are not pictures or designs but rather numbers. Because it is hot, he is walking without a shirt and you can see numbers tattooed across his chest. They also run down his arms and legs and across his back. As we pass him, we wonder what the numbers represent. Maite suggests they might be his phone number in case he collapses on the camino. We laugh but really we have no idea. The previous evening, I had asked Martin about his tattoos. His quiet demeanor and soft voice are in sharp contrast to the image he projects. He pointed to his thigh and explained that the tattoo starts there and it represents the number pi: 3.1415. The rest of the numbers continue out the placement and are found around his body. He explains that he has tattooed the number pi because it tries to be a perfect measurement but that it is not. His tattoos are a constant and visual reminder that although we may strive for perfection, it is not attainable because we are human and imperfect beings. Although we met only briefly, I don´t think that I can forget Martin and his tattoos.

As we start our day´s walk, it is still dark outside. Tom is none too pleased about being awoken as he is tired from his uncomfortable sleep al fresco. But we get going and there are still stars in the sky. However, as the sun rises over the horizon, the stars quickly fade and the midnight blue sky starts to turn a brilliant blue. It is also starting to heat up. As we walk, we realize that today will be another short day since the stage goal is the city of Logroño, which is nearly 40 kilometers away. We check our maps for a stopping point and choose Torres del Rio, which makes today´s distance about an 18 kilometer walk. The day´s walk is mostly on a path but there is little shade and water. Once again, we slip into a rhythm of walking with Tom, Denise and Roger ahead and Jose, Maite and me behind. During our walk, we spot a young woman Maite has nicknamed "Peter Pan." She is walking the camino in a pair of bright green boots and we have seen various times along the way. She is sitting on a hay bale and we stop to ask her about her unique walking shoes. She laughs and explains she is Australian and she wanted to wear something that had her country´s name on it. But she also explains she would never wear the boots when she returns to Australia as they are a bit over the top. We tell her our nickname and she laughs again. We discover her name is Bianca and she is doing the camino with her mother and a friend. She and her mother had done part of the camino before but now wanted to complete the entire journey. We wish her a "Buen Camino" and continue walking.

The day is very hot and so we are glad we decided to make it a short walk. As we enter town, we find Tom, Denise and Roger having a cool drink at the bar. We laugh as that seems to be their favorite stopping point. However, we head into town to look for an albergue. The town is small and we are concerned about finding a place to stay. We find a privately run albergue called Casa Mari and quickly check in. We head off to let the others know where we are and search for some food. There is only one little store and it is closed for siesta. The practice of siesta is still very much alive in Spain and with good reason. The heat in the afternoon makes doing just about anything unbearable. As such, when we arrive at our resting places, they usually look abandoned. You see very few people outside and most windows are closed, usually with a metal shade. It is not until the heat of the day starts to cool off that villages and towns come alive and fill up as people head back outside to socialize and do errands or jobs not finished from earlier in the day. While we finish up our day´s chores, Roger goes out to look for food. I check our schedule and determine that if we continue our pace and break up stages into smaller chunks, we will not arrive in Santiago as we had planned. Tom and I are already two days behind schedule and we are in danger of foregoing our plans to visit my aunt and the beach for a few days before we head home. I discuss this with Maite and Jose. Tom and I have completely enjoyed our travels together but we need to pick up our pace. Maite and Jose explain while they don´t have a time constraint, they do have a monetary one and they too would like to pick up the pace. We decide to talk to Roger and Denise about this during dinner and see how they feel about going faster. Roger returns from foraging for food and lets us know the tiny shop has very little available to make dinner and much less for breakfast. He is craving bacon and eggs. Maite, Jose and I head out to see what we can find. We arrive at the store and at first glance, the supplies of foodstuff are rather sparse. There are a few containers with some vegetables and fruits. A cooler has some sausages, cold drinks and yogurts but there doesn´t appear to be much else. There is a split-level door and behind we can see what looks like a giant pantry stuffed with a variety of cans and assorted dry goods. We talk it over and decide we can make a tuna pasta for dinner with what is available. Off hand, we ask if he has any eggs or bacon and discover that most of the refrigerated food items are in another room. We quickly stock up with items to make lunch for tomorrow and Roger´s prized bacon and eggs. We head back to the albergue to prepare our meal. While Jose and I cook, Maite gives Denise a back massage. Denise is starting to have sciatic pain from all the walking. Following dinner, I bring up our concerns about our pace. Roger and Denise tell us they have concerns about the heat. They are not sure they can take a faster pace if it requires walking during the heat of the day. Denise is also concerned that a faster pace would injure her back further.Since they do not have any time constraints, they can continue to play things by ear and see when they want to stop. I can see Tom is upset. He is thoroughly enjoying his walks with Roger and Denise. For the first time, since our "herd" got together, we are all a little subdued as we head off to bed.
Morning comes all to quickly and with it a rather large misunderstanding between Jose and Roger. When Roger mentioned he wanted bacon and eggs, Jose thought it was to make for lunch in the morning. Roger, on the other hand, wanted to make them for breakfast. Jose and Maite are both taken aback by this. They couldn´t possible eat such a heavy breakfast before heading off to walk or at any other time, actually. Roger cannot understand this as hearty breakfast is a pre-requisite for him and Denise before they start any kind of trek. I have to explain that breakfast in Spain is rather simple: a cafe´con leche and some kind of toasted bread with either butter and jam or tomato and olive oil. Large breakfasts common to England and the United States are virtually unheard of in Spain. Eggs are also an item eaten at lunch or dinner. It is Roger´s turn to be taken aback. In the end, he decides not to cook the items. Not wanting to leave the eggs behind, Jose cooks them up and makes an omelet with the sausage and the bacon bought the day before. This he puts in the baguettes and wraps them for lunch. The tension over the morning´s misunderstanding and the discussion about picking up the pace of our journey is very palpable. I think everyone can sense the discomfort. As we walk, I try to tell Tom why it might be necessary to break up our group. Although he says he understands, he is still upset by the thought. He has formed a rather close attachment to our British friends. We walk today with a heavy but unseen weight on our shoulders.
Our day´s destination is Logroño, a walk of about 23 kilometers. We have gotten off to a quick start and hope to beat the heat as well as the large number of walkers we know are behind us. Our shorter journey gives us a little advantage as the camino fills up and albergue space is at a premium. We arrive in Viana and plan to stop for breakfast. As we enter town, we discover that Viana is celebrating a fiesta. There are banners flying over head and we pass several gentlemen cooking a giant stew outdoors. They tell us they are making Callos, which is a specialty in Spain. It´s main ingredient is tripe and today they are lucky because there is an "encierro", a bullfight, for the fiesta and the stew will be extra special with ears and tail of the bull added.

We wish them a happy feast day and head off in search of coffee and toast. We catch up with Tom, Denise and Roger. Tom wants to stay in Viana for the night and experience the fiesta and bullfight. But, I have to remind him that a delay will cost us our trip to the beach and he relents grudgingly.
After our breakfast, we head off to Logroño. We walk today through gorgeous green vineyards announcing that we will soon be leaving the province of Navarre and entering the region of La Rioja, known world-wide for its wines. Our late morning walk starts to slow down as the heat of the day rises. We have been walking now for nine days and covered nearly 150 kilometers. We are tired and sore but we keep moving forward. When we reach the albergue in Logroño, there is already a line of pilgrims waiting for the doors to open. We put our backpacks at the end of the line and sit in the shade waiting for the albergue to open. There are many people we recognize from previous stages and soon we are all comparing injuries and stories from our walk across Spain. There is a lot of laughing and joking around while we wait. You can hear a multitude of languages: German, Italian, French, Spanish and many others I don´t recognize. It´s a real tower of Babel. The albergue opens at 1:30 and so everyone jumps up to take their place in line. We slowly move forward and as we enter we are warmly greeted and given a small bottle of wine and small roll in the shape of a scallop shell, the symbol of the Camino. Having lost track of what day it is, we quickly realize that today is July 25th and it is the feast of St. James, patron saint of the Camino. We are informed that there will be a mass followed by a celebration with food and drink. We are told the doors of the albergue will be closed at 10:00 and to be careful as dinner is served late in town. I translate this to Roger and Denise and we go upstairs to find our beds. There is some grumbling by Roger and Denise. As we settle ourselves down, they inform us that they are going to find a hotel for the night. They don´t feel the albergue is particulary safe if there is a fire and they might want to stay out later than the house rules allow. We are saddened knowing that our journey together is at an end. We tell them we will try to find them in the plaza later. No goodbyes are said, instead it is, see you later. Jose, Maite and I go off on our usual hunt for an open grocery store and a bank machine. Most of the stores, bars and albergues we visit in the small villages are on a cash-only basis so when you find a machine you´d best make use of it. When we return to the albergue, mass is underway in the small patio outside. There is a large crowd in attendance, most of whom don´t appear to be pilgrims but rather guests. We maneuver our way through the crowd with our grocery bags feeling a little sheepish that groceries took priority over mass. As we put our items in the refrigerator, we are informed that the kitchen will be closed during the fiesta as it is needed by the caterer. We head back out of albergue in search of something to eat and a drink. At the plaza, we run into Roger and Denise. They are sitting with a fellow Brit, whom they just recently met. They tell us they have found a nearby hotel for the night and are enjoying the luxury of a private bathroom and no bunk beds. We wish them well and tell them that we hope to see them tomorrow on the camino. Back at the albergue, the party is on. There are tables laden with appetizers and wine and soda are flowing. Everyone is in a cheerful mood. We make the most of the food as we won´t be able to make dinner with a closed kitchen. Before long, exhaustion kicks in and we leave the party for the guests who won´t be getting up at the crack of dawn. We are in bed by 9:30 and the party at the albergue winds down by 10:00. However, it spills out into the street and we fall asleep with celebrations going on outside our window.