15 Miles to Belorado

Sounds like Colorado.  There have been times on this journey when we would not have known the difference, so alike has some of the terrain been. We are after all on the same latitude line. Alike as it can seem, it is truly another world.

This morning, leaving the hotel, the only other pilgrim on the street with us was...guess who, Shannon.  I have been provided another opportunity to make something right. Thank you.....  As we walked up behind her, John said,"someone is looking tired". I didn't give myself the chance to even see if she looked at all miffed at us, I just put my arm around her and said that I was sorry for disappearing yesterday and I just confessed that I was more tired than I let on and just had to find another place.  She said no problem and all was forgotten.  As is the way of the Camino. We walked a long while together and stopped at 7k out at Granon and had a cafe con leche and a snack.  We met a rafting guide from Colorado named Andie and her companions  Lauren and her mother, two women who could have been sisters. At this point you can't tell if people are with original friends or ones met on the way.

We continued on and even though I had had such a hard day yesterday, today I finally feel as though my body has given in to this repetitive punishment. I am feeling a lot stronger now which makes me feel even better and hopeful for the forward journey. We have left the land of vineyards and entered fields of sunflowers.

We arrived at the little hamlet town of Belorado at about 1:30pm and stopped at the very first albergue for grande cervesas and decided to walk on into town to try to find something closer in.  We settled for the Cuatro Cantones which looked cozy. Ten euro each and we were assigned to a room for 6 with one bathroom to share.  We unpacked and washed out a few things and showered. No temp controls on the water and everything was either lukewarm or cold. At least we were early and could do this before our room filled up with the 4 Germans and one Barvarian who would be our roommates for the night.

We walked into the dead little town. Siesta is always in the afternoons here.  I sat on a bench and an old man came over and said hola buenos Dias all the while staring at my bare legs. I was wearing my dress.  I told him I spoke only a little Spanish but he told me his name and I like to think he was trying to ask if my legs were cold and not telling me I was being rude by exposing them or something.  Most people are very tolerant of the peregrinos thankfully.

We ended up at the hotel bar where we had a comfy place to update the blog and where John could have some of the ice coldest Estrella on tap in all of Spain (according to John)..  Shopped for tomorrow at the grocery when it opened at six.  It's been hard to know when things are opened or closed here. I'm sure it is not as random as it seems.

Went to the pilgrims meal offered by the albergue and were seated with other English speakers..well all but one, Enrique, a Spaniard who spoke no English but was traveling with Sara, an Australian living in London. John was seated next to Greg, an Irish lad with the red hair and fair skin you would expect.  Nolan from North Carolina and a young Brit whose name I don't remember. I was stuck at the end of the table with Sara who seemed very angry and annoyed with the other pilgrims she had been meeting, telling me horror stories of interactions and just wanting to tell everyone to f**k off and leave her alone!  I wondered what she was doing here.  She kept exclaiming that the magic happens when she is alone! Isn't it obvious that the Camino is highly social? Looked like the lessons of this journey just might be calling out to her. Enrique on the other hand was communing without language and  kept thumping his chest and saying, "the Camino" and smiling.  Even though the food and wine was good, it was not a very relaxing dinner for me.  Evidently for many of us, the social aspect is a whole other facet of this journey.