I wake up feeling a little tired, but not the groggy exhaustion from getting too little sleep. I actually had slept pretty well. Thankfully, most nights I've been plenty warm. This albergue kept their heater on through the night, so I actually woke up a little bit sweaty a few times - far better than waking up freezing cold!
I get out of bed at 6:50 and get dressed, then go to the kitchen to eat breakfast. The nuns had set out some croissants and one even offers to make me coffee. I eat the yogurt I had bought yesterday and then go back to the bunks to pack up my bag. My plan is to meet up with Margaret, Sam, and Dan at Joe and Kate's apartment. I check the weather, and realize it's set to rain all morning until 1:00, so I throw on my rain jacket and rain pants. This will be the first time I'm wearing my rain pants on the Camino! We've truly had fortunate weather so far.
Once I'm done packing, around 7:50, I head to Joe and Kate's apartment which is right around the corner. Margaret lets me in and Joe is cooking his breakfast while Dan is finishing getting his bag packed. Kate has just woken up. We all sit around the room for a few minutes, enjoying our last moments as a whole group. It's really been a pleasure to get to know Joe and Kate. They're amazing people and so kind and generous. I pray that they find Christ! Yesterday, they told me that they had met a kind monk who convinced them to go to Mass on Sunday at the Catedral de León at noon, since that's the only Mass using the cathedral altar, which means they can get into the cathedral for free! Joe joked that my missionary efforts were fulfilled. I hope they have a great experience!
With a happy goodbye, we all hug Joe and Kate and then head out. We meet up with Sam and Eva at a cafe, and enjoy coffee and pastries together. I call Mikayla, who's with her friends and family for the weekend on a trip for her bridal shower. It sounds like she's having a great time!
Side note: some bathrooms are a little short, but this is the shortest bathroom I've encountered yet. It's actually comically short. I'd imagine that half of all guys have to slouch in here.
We finish up our breakfast and then start our walk for the day. There's two routes we can take: the scenic or the historic route. Often, people have gone and carved out a new path for the Camino because Spain had built the N-120 freeway directly on top of the historic Camino path. We decide to take the scenic route, since no one particularly enjoys following the highway, and set out.
The walk through the city is quite pretty. The rain comes down lightly, steadily increasing. We see some classic statues such as a man writing on a bench, or another taking a snooze next to the city hall. We cross a bridge over the river and gradually head out of the city.
Another funny note. Dan didn't have much time to prepare for the Camino between deciding to do it and flying out to Spain. His friend who is experienced in the outdoors told him the most important thing is layering. So Dan brought layers. In particular, his layers are a flannel shirt, a hoodie, and a jean jacket. And also a few pairs of jeans. Therefore, we have coined him Denim Dan. While denim is probably the single worst possible choice of clothing for the Camino, Denim Dan is unequivocally the best dressed pilgrim I've seen yet.
It takes a few kilometers of walking to get out of the city. I look up every now and again, but my boots are the most frequent sight of the morning. Since it's almost always windy when it's raining, and the wind is always blowing East, looking up means getting rain in your face. Thus the sight of my boots. After a while, I look up, and see another pilgrim leaving a gas station at the same time that we walk by. I decide to introduce myself. Her name is Kynes (that's my best guess) and she's from Austria. She started walking in Burgos since she only has 3 weeks to walk, and apparently she hasn't seen too many other pilgrims. After a few minutes, we come to a cafe. We decide to stop, while Kynes goes on. I bet we'll see her again!
We enter the very warm cafe after taking our packs off and placing them outside. I get a cafe con leche, of course, and then see Dan getting a coke. I justify that coke would be a good complement to coffee and would help boost my walking energy, and get myself a coke as well. Then Dan, Margaret, Eva and I play a card game that Eva teaches us. It's similar to a game I've played many times called Palace, but has more fun rules and additions.
We play a good round before discussing again which route to take. The scenic route is scenic, but can only be as scenic as my boots. And it's almost certainly a muddy mess. It is also a deviation from the original historical route, which was designed to cut through Spain as efficiently as possible. This means that it would be an extra few kilometers of walking as well. We decide to just take the faster, better established traditional route. And with that, Margaret, Sam, and I head out. Denim Dan and Eva decide to hang out at the cafe for a little longer to avoid the rain, which has actually just turned into snow! The Camino is full of surprises.
We continue along, now walking in the snow, which is just as intent on floating into my face as I look up. I discover that if I just pull my jacket up a little bit, the chin cover goes right under my eyes and my hat blocks any snow from directly overhead. With my ability to look up restored, I am greeted with a winter wonderland as we leave the city! Okay, maybe not a winter wonderland. But it's certainly the closest I've gotten on the Camino so far! It helps that we get off the main road and start walking through some bushy park areas to the side of the main street.
My gear holds up pretty well. The jacket is great and extremely adjustable, the rain pants are impenetrable, and my boots don't soak through. Thankful for this, I continue on. We walk through the snow for a while longer, following a main road at a slight distance. It's not the highway, so it's not as bad as it could be, but cars still frequently pass us. Still, the scenery is pretty as we pass through some countryside towns.
We take a moment's break at a little closed coffee hut that has an awning. I break out the Milka, my new favorite chocolate brand. We all share some chocolate and drink water, then head on. Around 1:30, the snow lightens up and then stops, and the sun even comes out to greet us! It gets warmer and I take my hood off. It's so nice to have my peripheral vision back! We walk on a dirt path and I talk with Sam and Margaret for a while. The Camino has been great so far. Usually when making friends, you talk for a while and get to know each other. Then, after many days of walking together, it turns into more of a silent, calm walk together, with occasional conversations. It's a nice dynamic.
The winter wonderland has been great. It snows enough to cover the fields, which turns the bland into the beautiful. We pass many pretty scenes of bushes, fields, trees, and even some more abandoned hobbit style homes.
After a little while, I receive a call from Mikayla. It's the day of her bridal shower! She had decided to wake up at 5:30 and have an ambitious morning. Her plan is to go to Mass, as she has not missed a single day this year so far, and then pray and run. What an amazing girl I am marrying! We talk on her way to Mass for a while, and her excitement makes me smile. Then it's back to walking in silence again. I take out my premade sandwich and eat it on the go, enjoying the warmth of the sun.
I get some time to walk alone, and pray a little bit. I listen to another audio session on Fr Walter Cizek and his radical trust in God, even through sudden indefinite imprisonment. I reflect on this and let it lead my thoughts for a while.
Margaret, Sam, and I soon arrive to the outskirts of the 20 kilometer town. After taking a break (and eating some more Milka) we check up on Dan and Eva to see where they are. They're only 2 kilometers behind. We decide to head into the town center to take a look around. Tomorrow is Sunday, which means the stores will likely be closed. We don't find much, save for a group of 6 sickly cats. They at least have a whole box of food set out for them. We watch them for a bit and then wander to a cafe.
At the cafe, I get a coke and sit in the sun as we wait for Dan and Eva to arrive. They aren't long, and we discuss what to do next. We could either do 5 more kilometers or just turn in for the night. We decide to turn in and get an early start on tomorrow. Thankfully, the albergue in this town is a donativo! That means a volunteer hospitalero who works because they want to. They're always very cheery and do their best to make us feel at home. Today, the hospitalero is a nice Canadian lady. We check in and then get our rooms situated.
After getting settled, I start writing my blog in the main room. Margaret makes tea and the hospitalero has a plate of cookies set out. It's a very nice albergue, a lot newer than most. I write for a while until it's time for dinner.
Dinner was really nice. Eva and Aya, who had showed up soon after us, made pasta with vegetables and some chorizo. The hospitalero joined us and we all talked about our experience on the Camino so far. It was a nice peaceful community dinner that is so familiar on the Camino!
After dinner, I continue writing my blog. My German friend Sebastian calls, so I talk with him for a good 40 minutes as well. It's really nice to catch up. Normally we have to plan around time zones when we call, but since I'm in Europe, that's not a problem! I tell him about my Camino so far and he talks about college, and then we talk about Germany for a while and what it's like to live there.
After finishing up my blog, I get into bed to pray a rosary before sleeping. It's been a great day! The rain and snow really makes me remember to appreciate the sun again. It's weird how used to the ordinary blessings you get. That's another thing I was reflecting on while walking today. If I can get so used to something as trivial as good weather, and come to take it for granted and even expect it or feel entitled to it, then how much more so can this be true for other things in my life? What about my state in life? Am I attached to a certain standard of living? Do I feel entitled to it? What if it were to disappear tomorrow? Would I blame God, or would I accept it as a gift and an opportunity to grow? If all things are designed and sent by God, then nothing is a mistake. At the very least, we can use everything as an opportunity to grow closer to God. Therefore, every event or action has the opportunity to be transformed and perfected by Christ, if we allow it to be. This was a comforting yet challenging thought for me. I know there will be ways that I'm called to grow that I don't quite feel ready for, or that I don't want. And yet it's not my will that I desire to do. What a gift this life is! I desire to live for Jesus to give that gift back to Him.
Tomorrow, we walk 30 kilometers to the city of Astorga. And now, I sleep.
P.S. I read another blog that put their story in the present tense, which is what I've done in this post. I figured I'd try it and see what I like better. It feels more like reading a book this way to me!