Camino 2024 - Day 13 - Vilamayor del Rio

My Camino gangstah walk is back. Gah! I walked the whole way with a limp today.

The walk out of Santo Domingo was overcast and a little chilly, but very lovely. I’m always struck by the quality of silence on the Camino. We are often blessed with true silence,  with no background noise at all, well, except the birds singing.

You must remember to look back occasionally. The sun is always at our back in the morning, so it is easy to miss beautiful sunrises if you’re not paying attention.

What I call the hallelujah moment, when the village you are walking towards is first sighted. Grañon in the distance. It will be 4 1/2 miles when I get there and I have not had anything to eat or drink yet this morning. I’m running on empty, and my ankle/foot is really hurting in spite of 400 mg ibuprofen.

Grañon

In spite of being in pain, there is something about this view, the path going off into the distance, seemingly forever that makes my heart swell.

I found myself musing this morning about freedom. I passed a couple of piggeries, obvious from the smell. There are quite a few of those here. Spain is known for its Jamon (Ham). And I couldn’t help but think about the poor pigs and their lot in life. And how fortunate I am to have the tremendous freedom that I do. I feel like I have won the lottery. And standing at the top of hills in places like this, looking around 360° at incredible views, the sense of freedom is palpable.

The next village is in sight. My speed has slowed to a crawl. In Grañon I ingested another 400 mg of ibuprofen, but it doesn’t appear to make a difference. I’m wondering how much longer I will be able to walk. 

I realized today that it takes a strong will and a strong desire to do this trip. I’m officially done trying to convince people to do it with me. It’s far too difficult to do if you are not driven to do it. 

Today was the perfect day on the Camino. Four little villages all spaced a couple of miles apart lots of time to rest and Café con Leche. That was the plan anyway… and you know what they say about plans…

At the last village, there was a taxi pulled up outside the place I was going to get another coffee. I decided when I was done with my coffee, if he was still sitting there, I would take that as my sign. I love signs , he was still sitting there. 7 1/2 miles was all I had in me today

At least I was smart enough to get stuck at a place with a good cook… I will drown my sorrows in food today I think.