Back on the trail

We had a nice couple of rest days, and a great breakfast buffet in Astorga. I think we were both feeling refreshed and ready to get back to our routine of walking. My cold is better - mostly just some congestion now. So we hit the trail again with a day of some uphills as we made our way to Rabanal del Camino in what is known as the Maragato lands. The Maragato is a unique subculture in these mountains, with its own language and cuisine. Somewhat like the Basque and the Galicians, but they are a declining population of only 4,000 spread among 40 small villages in the hills here. No one really knows the origin of this culture - possibly from the Moors. But we were told not to miss their cuisine.

As we leave Astorga, we see the street sweepers hard at work cleaning up the plazas. It’s nice that they keep it so clean, but the stones are quite slippery. We saw one fellow pilgrim almost go down (though he was walking in Crocs so that’s on him). We made a quick rest stop in Murias de Rechivaldo before our first uphill climb. There I got my puppy fix as well. There seems to be an unspoken bond with other dog owners. When I asked (in very poor Spanish) if I could pet his dogs, the man was quick to say yes and explain that his pup was one of six. He said a lot of other things as well, but I didn’t catch most of it. But he was so happy when I told him “bonitos perros” (beautiful dogs).

As I walked today, I reflected on all the pilgrims I have met from all over the world, and the judgments I have made about who or what they are. I hear their stories of being in the albergues with people from all cultures and ages, who have different ideas of modesty, of personal space, of acceptable noise levels, and thought there’s no way I could tolerate that. I mean, isn’t there a universal common sense of boundaries and appropriate behavior in a group setting like that? Well, no there isn’t. I realized there is a big difference between tolerance and embracement (which I’m not sure is a word but I’m going for it). While tolerance is good, it still holds disdain and judgment. It allows you to set aside those negative impressions for a period of time but only until you remove yourself from the situation. It is merely holding your breath until you can exhale. Embracement goes beyond tolerance. It is a full inhalation of who or what the situation is, without judgment and with a true desire to understand and appreciate the full picture. It replaces judgment with curiosity. I am working on that in my own life and relationships. How often do I judge others? Tolerate them, yes; but inside I am often thinking “WTF?” I realize I need to embrace others with a fullness of desire to understand. Then I can exhale with them. (Pretty deep thoughts on only one cafe con leche!)

We stop in Santa Catalina de Somoza for some coffee, juice and a little rest. Very cute, clean town with neat rock walls that line the streets. We encountered our friend Michael from Dublin so we sat and chatted with him a bit. The walk continued along a dirt path that ran parallel to the road, but there were very few cars on a Tuesday morning. We came into the tiny little Hamlet of El Ganso. Off to the right was a little settlement of tepees, a new kind of albergue called Albergue Indian Way. Nine beds per tepee. Interesting twist on the albergue game. We stopped for a quick bite and ran into Michael again, as well as Dirk and Bridgette from Belgium. It is so fun to keep meeting up with our fellow pilgrims. It feels good to back on the trail among them.

Coming out of El Ganso, we met two new friends: Jackie from Seattle and Lorraine from Phoenix, both 70 years old and celebrating their retirement. So we walked and chatted with them for a while. The final stretch into Rabanal had us fully back into mountainous terrain and pasturelands. Still a dirt track along the roadway, but lots of roots and rocks and bits of sharp shale jutting up. The trekking poles are a must. I felt much more at home in this terrain, seeing the livestock (I did not try to pet the steer!) and feeling the ups and downs and turns of the path. And it was very warm and sunny today. Full sun hat, lots of sunscreen.

We ran into Tim on the trail today, the guy from Pennsylvania who was celebrating the one year anniversary of his aortic valve replacement. We met him on our first day in St Jean while we waited in line at the Pilgrim Welcome Office. When we saw him in St. Jean, he looked rather pale. Today he was tan and all smiles. So nice to reconnect and see him doing well.

We arrived in Rabanal feeling good after our 13-mile trek. This is a centuries old village with a long history of caring for the pilgrims. The Knights Templar had a presence here in the 12th century to provide safe passage to the pilgrims. (I need to learn more about the Knights Templar. Their mark is everywhere along this pilgrimage and from what I can glean, they were pretty bad-ass. Luckily on the side of pilgrims!) Our hotel is a beautiful renovated pilgrims hospital. After a shower and nap, we went to the chapel and attended vespers with the Benedictine monks singing in Latin. I have never heard vespers before, and it was quite beautiful. And the chapel is also from the 12th century. And very cold inside… kinda envious of those monks with their hooded robes!

Dinner was delicious but again too much food. I tried Carne Maragato, because when will I ever get to try Maragato food again? It was delicious - tasted like stewing beef that was simmered all day in spices. But I think I’ve had enough red meat for a while, after my hamburger yesterday and the beefsteak last night. And I think again I insulted our host, Jesus, that I couldn’t finish the meal. (Didn’t have a spare plastic bag to hide the leftovers.) I just tried to explain that it was delicious but I don’t eat much.

Okay off to bed early. We have a gnarly uphill first thing tomorrow… 350 meters of climbing over 7km. By comparison, today was 200 meters of climbing over 20km. Ugh!