My right knee was sore from the previous night. It feels slightly better but when I walk I feel a little pain enough to cause to rethink if I should walk less or much slower or not walk at all. So I begin the morning by walking very slowly as usual. I don't pick up the pace for about two hours - until my body gives me the sign that it is okay to kick it into a different gear.
The view along the way continue to be beautiful.
I started at 7:30 AM and reached my destination Carrion De Los Condes 20 km away just before noon. I walked around the town and saw my friends Troy and Janet (Canada) and Shayne (Australia) sitting at a restaurant - contemplating if they were going to stay here in town for the day or move on.
I had a few stops in between, and walked slowly for 2 hours but my legs felt fine except for a tiny blister I just picked up. I broke it, put some compeed on it and then decided to walk the next segment of 17.1 km which contained a stretch of 11.4 km (arguably 16.1) with no towns, or access to food and water.
Janet and Shayne were on board and we set out to conquer a 17.1 km walk and enjoy the scenery.
The surface of the road was very flat, but slightly hard and the heat was kicking in. The views were also amazing.
We even saw a mini-tornado (or whatever you call it) forming.
We walked and walked and walked. And I looked at the clock and judged our pace. We started just after noon and kept walking with two or three less than a minute stops for pictures, or adjustments in our gear. As the heat, the lack of shade, and the sore feet continue to grow we saw a few small hills and hoped that it would just be past the hill, and for every tiny hill we encountered we were disappointed. It kept on going and going and going, just like an Energizer Bunny.
Finally we saw what looked like a church in the distance and there was a glimmer of hope. It took us about 30 mins to get to the church only to realize there was no town in sight, and just then we started to see a small roof top and the town appeared and the bottom of a drop from nowhere. And we were like kids in a candy store.
Excited to check into our albergue, shower, do laundry, and head out for our celebratory beer.
We made two new friends along the way. Emily from Australia and Marie from Ireland. Marie keeps checking me out (inside joke). We shared conversation, sodas, and a delightful dinner together. Such great company with new and old friends.
As I write this I stare outside my window and enjoy the sunset and oncoming moon.
One small interesting observation is that our unisex bathroom has urinals just beside the sink with no privacy barrier with a great view of the Meseta. Makes for beautiful viewing scenery and odd and perhaps awkward glancing moment from any women using the sink.
Lesson Learned:
Sometimes in life you have to persevere and continue to walk the path even though there is no end in sight. There will be a few hills that promise you false hope, and then leave you dejected when it doesn't offer anything except a continuation of the same road. But in the end there will be an end to the path - a final destination that has been reached.
or better said 'This too shall pass.'
Money Spent: 33.80 Euro
Breakfast: 4.00 Euro
Snack: 2.20 Euro (2 Bananas and a Coke)
Lunch: 1.20 Euro
Albergue: 7.00 Euro
Celebatory Beer: 6.20 Euro
Soda: 1.20 Euro
Laundry: 2 Euro
Dinner: 10 Euro
I love that the "celebratory beer" is almost as much as a shower and night's rest!
ReplyDeleteWow, a long day, about 36K. That's farther than I ever walked. No wonder you were so happy to arrive and then celebrated with a beer. I like the arms raised in victory pic. It didn't take me much to buy a "celebratory" beer every evening!
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