Day 19 -Castrojeriz, 13 miles
I had a little pity party for myself as I started the day once again in pain… Not so much as the day before, but still causing me to walk very slowly…
The mystical, foggy morning, making other pilgrims hard to see, contributed to my feeling of aloneness as everyone zoomed past me…the Meseta… Ahhhh… Time to go inside…what is this pain about? I prayed for God to release this burden whatever it was…an emotional release…. and suddenly my feet felt tremendously better! Within half an hour the pain was basically gone.
As my funk lifted so did the fog, to reveal another gorgeous, sunny, walking day.
I believe this next picture is the first Templar cross I’ve come across… They had a big presence on the Camino, it was their job to protect pilgrims from robbers.
I surprised all the friends I’d made the night before, a group of English women and a couple of German women, by arriving just behind them at the first rest stop, Hontanas, 6.5 miles. They had passed me going at a snails pace. It felt so good to be back to ‘normal’. What an incredibly inviting little village.
A sweet little … Not sure what to call it… To a 13th C nun…where I prayed for Cooper today…at the entrance to this village.
As my funk lifted so did the fog, to reveal another gorgeous, sunny, walking day.
I believe this next picture is the first Templar cross I’ve come across… They had a big presence on the Camino, it was their job to protect pilgrims from robbers.
I surprised all the friends I’d made the night before, a group of English women and a couple of German women, by arriving just behind them at the first rest stop, Hontanas, 6.5 miles. They had passed me going at a snails pace. It felt so good to be back to ‘normal’. What an incredibly inviting little village.
I said hello to my Australian friend at this stop also… What an illusion life can be…. I started off two hours earlier feeling alone, and suddenly I was surrounded by all these international friends…I wasn’t even sure who to sit with 😄
After eating, I left before everyone else as I needed to get to my town before the pharmacia closed for siesta, to get some magical ibuprofen infused cream called Voltaren. This definitely contributed to my miraculous recovery.
The path now seemed to sparkle, wildflowers abound, taking lots of pictures for my grandson who loves flowers. I am totally alone on this beautiful trail as it winds around the mountain. To think I was afraid of this, being alone in the middle of nowhere..
After a while the trail takes me to a tree lined, rural road… Now pilgrims seem to appear out of nowhere, one at a time…I round a corner and see the ruins of an old monastery… The richness of history here is amazing
I am shortly at my destination for the night, the hallelujah moment is tempered by the fact this is a large town, 900 people, and I will need to walk a mile through the town to get to my albergue for the night.
No bunk beds, yay! A really nice place, and a German friend of mine joins me in my room. We meet with 4 other Germans for a great dinner.
