Ok. Here we go. All day while walking I have all these thoughts. As with our bicycle touring experiences, I love the feeling of unwinding; moving metaphors abound!
Today I felt real appreciation for the yoga teachings I have studied and continue to try to internalize. I was thinking about the meaning of yoga: union of opposites. There are no dualities. Dualities lead to struggle. The self vs. others. Do you take care of yourself, take time for yourself and sacrifice your time and support for others? No. It is all the same.
And then the body. Do we try to overcome the needs of the physical and focus on the spiritual? Are we more than our bodies? No. We MUST attend to the body and the body knowing. Respect it. And at the same time we can feel limitless.
Ok. Enough of that.
We left this morning after a full egg, ham, cheese, yogurt, juice breakfast at the rural inn we stayed at. We chatted for awhile with a couple who are physicians from Florida. They are staying in small inns as we appear to be at the moment. Tonight we're at the loveliest of converted 12th century castles with a charming concierge se llama Edwardo. He gave us an exceptional room as the photos will reflect. Upon entering , fatigued from walking 14 miles with cold, relentless wind, and even a little hail, we found a jacuzzi tub! Heaven in a nutshell. How these simple pleasures elevate in importance.
Right now I'm sitting in a cavern sipping a local wine while Craig rests in our room. He'll join me for dinner in a bit. Meanwhile I'm enjoying the parade of peregrinos come through, some noticeably limping, talking about the next stage, how far to go, how to nurse injuries, where to stay, etc. It becomes a way of life. Although it's only Day 2 for us, I can see how it will become our world.
Like Craig, the physician from Florida who specializes in blood clotting said this morning, " how do you explain spending dollars to just walk and walk and put one's self through discomfort, even injury as a "vacation"? Some inherently get it; others don't. And it all makes sense.
The weather's been tough but not as bad as the forecast. And that's another lesson. Why suffer the anticipation when you are going to walk anyway? it hasn't turned out to be that bad. We are prepared. We probably have more clothes than we need but we have the warm clothes that are essential to keep comfortable. How did peregrinos of old manage?
Interestingly, some local people walk the Camino in stages, "poco a poco". We met a couple from Valencia today who just come to the last place they've been and walk when they have time; eventually they will arrive at Santiago. There are many cyclists on the Camino with mountain bikes.
Food. All delicious. Today we had sopa castellana, a local favorite. Sustained us well.
Enough for now. I'm ready for dinner and need to go cajole Craig out of the loving cocoon of bed.
Dinner was exceptional. This town is renowned for its garlic and that was the soup selection for the Pilgrim's menu.
Then came garlic chicken and dessert arroz con leche a la Eduardo's abuela. Slow cooked on stove top and caramelized. Edwardo is one of those guys who wears his shoes with grace. He treats everyone with sincerity and respect. I guess it doesn't hurt to speak some Spanish . It appears to go a long way. He made reservations in Fromista for us for tomorrow night and I heard him say "Norteamericano and ella habla Espanol."a little goes a long way but I'm motivated to learn more .
Everyone is so warm and gracious.
