“As the World Turns” Camino style
Okay,we are now in the same category as soap operas and sitcom. I promise I am NOT making this up. Truth stranger than fiction…. Correct?!!!! Especially so with the Taylor’s.
So we started out great. Early breakfast. Easy checkout. Beautiful scenery. Dressed too warmly but easily compensated for by removing layers. We had read weather. Gonna warm up so first layer is short sleeves. Of course I only brought ONE short sleeve shirt. It was predicting snow,right! ALWAYS rain, right? WRONG and it wasn’t Micehlin’s fault!
We noticed that the temperature was rising quickly. We can handle this. Ball caps, sunglasses, sunscreen. We didn’t count on record breaking temperatures. We don’t have shorts. It is supposed to be cold. We are ready for ski weather. Okay, rolling Patagonia pants up to knees….very attractive. Turning our ball caps to the lieft side to keep from scorching our necks. The 11.9 mile trek became 15.9 miles. This path isn’t for sissies. It meanders 1/2 mile to the right to pass an ancient church and the 1/2 mile back to the road to enter the village. Good grief!
We enter the second village and Ernest says, “As soon as we stop to get two cafe con leches, I am mailing my sleeping bag back to Natalie. It is hot and we are just going to stay in nice hotels.We are not staying in albergues. We won’t need them! ” Being the submissive wife that I am I readily agreed to mail mine, too. Two more pounds off our backs. We find the post office and ship those warm down filled cacoons to Belgium.
A quick lunch on a city bench and we are off. And then we walked and walked and walked and walked. Where was that lovely village with the little hotel with our reservations for a private room with bath? We walked some more. We checked our map. It was getting almost 3:30 and we had expected to arrive an hour ago. Oh, THERE it is and there is the hotel. Hallelujahs were ringing in our ears. But why was the hotel locked? Siesta time? We stood at the door and called. We could hear the phone ringing inside but no one was answering. Ernest checked his email. Oh, gracious, the hotel is closed. They made our reservations for September 3rd rather than March 9th. Instead of3/9 they interpreted it 9/3.
So remember when we were NEVER staying in a communal albergue. GUESS where Ernest and I are staying without sleeping bags. Yes, you are absolutely right. SANTA CLARA ALBERGUE.
God continues to make his presence known . Today, an amazing thing happened. When we were walking and walking and walking suddenly Ernest looked up and yelled, “Sheep!” Before us on the right side of the road were about 200 sheep with their shepherd. We were mesmerized. A sweet teenaged lamb ran up to the shepherd and nuzzled him. Then the Sheperd started across the road. The sheep, almost in perfect unison lifted their heads from grazing and looked ONLY at him. They didn’t move until he indicated for them to cross. Each of those sheep at their eyes directly ON Him! They would not move till He told them too. Ernest and I couldn’t stop watching. So this is exactly what You mean when You say to keep our eyes on you? We got it now,God. Thank you’
I tell you we are having a wonderful experience. Just not the experience WE expected! But we wouldn’t stop. We are on Camino.
Buen Camino!
