I woke up early today, at 6:30. I snoozed my alarm until 6:40 and then got up, feeling pretty tired. But I wanted to be able to walk with Wolfgang and not hold him up too much, since he starts at 7:00 usually, so I got up and got ready for the day. I had a nice breakfast of yogurt and a croissant that I had bought yesterday, and chatted a bit with Joe and Kate as I ate. Then I got my pack together and was ready to go.
Sam and Dan had intended on leaving with us, but they ended up deciding to take their time, so Margaret, Wolfgang, and I headed out together at 7:45. Our walk today was either going to be 30 or 36 kilometers, depending on which town we decided to stop at. Much of the Camino is just playing it by ear and seeing how you feel, and whether or not you could go on. So we set out and took the scenic path, which they call the "Roman Road", instead of following the main road. Apparently the Romans had built this road, and had used thousands of small rocks in the area to build it. The road is not what it once had been, as many of the rocks have been kicked off the path over time, but it's still cool to see and walk along.
As we walked, the three of us talked about why we're doing the Camino, what we do in ordinary life, and what the area we're from is like. Wolfgang is a lawyer and is getting his PHD soon. He's 28 and he did the Camino for the first time 10 years ago with his mom. They completed it in 21 days! He does 40 kilometers a day, which is a ton of walking, and he's on track to complete it in about 22 or 23 days. I think he just walks fast and has a lot of endurance. He's a really interesting guy! I asked him a lot of questions about what life is like growing up in a German village and how the culture is. Bavaria seems like a really cool place. It's culturally Catholic and everyone in the village can trace back to a common ancestor. A very different life from the urban suburbia of Southern California!
The walk today was very similar to how it's been for the last week or so. Green rolling hills, although this time very low and flat hills. Flat is the best way to describe today. In the distance, I could see a long mountain range full of snow capped peaks. There was no wind (finally!) and the sun was out. It was the perfect weather, which I have really learned to appreciate after the the 35 mph winds in your face with stinging rain.
This was by far the longest section we've walked without hitting a town. We ran into one town right away, but I realized I couldn't buy any sweets in the single small open grocery store. I had run out of cash, which is a very common occurrence on the Camino. Your chances of being able to use a card in any given albergue, restaurant, or store is about 50/50. Margaret had the same issue today, so we walked away sweetless. Wolfgang, on the other hand, had a rather dry pastry.
We continued walking, talking about anything that popped into mind. We compared wedding traditions, bachelor party traditions, and talked about common pastimes. Apparently hiking is very popular in Southern Bavaria, due to the proximity of the German Alps, and they have hostel lodges all over where you can hike and stay overnight for super cheap. I think that's genius! But camping isn't very big over there, which I find to be a bummer.
It felt like we walked endlessly on this Roman road. The road started to become rockier, less dirt, and there were loose rocks that I would step on every few steps. I could start to feel blisters forming in various spots on my feet, although I don't truly know what the reason was. Wolfgang had given me some compeed for my toe, which is basically an antiseptic second skin for blisters, and that was working but I felt more forming. Despite that, I had a good time talking with Wolfgang and learning about Germany.
At a certain point, we followed next to train tracks, and got to see a few trains go by. We also saw huge tractors designed for harvesting potatoes, and we got to see them at work. They were harvesting huge swaths of these potato fields, and then dumping all the potatoes in one gigantic heap. It was very intriguing and we watched for a few moments before continuing on.
After a little while, we realized it was 2:00, so we sat on a little dirt ridge and ate lunch. I ate a sandwich that I had packed the night before. We spent some time sitting in silence and eating. My exhaustion from not sleeping enough the night before hit me at that moment in a wave. I felt a headache coming on, and I felt like I could lay down in the middle of the road and take a long nap. When we got up to continue, my blisters felt painful, and they didn't fade into the background like they usually do after a few minutes. I probably looked drunk the way I walked. Since I have blisters on both heels and on toes of each foot now, I was walking with my feet flat. It was terribly inefficient but thankfully Wolfgang soon recognized a bridge that his guide book had noted is only 45 minutes away from our destination town of Reliegos. That was enough motivation to get me walking at a decent pace again.
Right before that bridge, I had my most dangerous encounter on the Camino yet. We were walking by a very picturesque cow farm when a huge guard dog came racing towards us, with nothing stopping him from coming all the way to us. There was a small fence that lined the property of the cattle rancher, and thankfully the dog stayed on the other side of that fence. But fence really isn't the right word for what it was. It was thin metal poles in the ground with one or two strings connecting them, well above the height of the dog. I had figured that maybe the dog had a shock collar on and the fence was its shock boundary, but Joe and Kate later told us that the dog came all the way up to them. Thankfully it didn't bite but it certainly wasn't a friendly looking dog. Other than that, the cattle were beautiful and very fun to watch.
I prayed a rosary to pass the rest of the walk, and we were soon in Reliegos around 3:45. 7-8 hours is really good for 30 kilometers!
Reliegos is a tiny town on the outskirts of the very big city of León. There was one bar cafe, one tiny market, and one albergue open. The three of us walked into the albergue and waited for check in. I took the time to rest and take off my boots. Wolfgang decided that he felt good and would rather stay in a bigger city for the night. He isn't stopping over in León, since he said he's currently intent on walking and not sight seeing. Besides, he's done this before. So he decided to go another 6 kilometers to the next town. It was sad to see him go, but he seems like more of the lone wolf type anyways. I doubt we'll see him again due to his speed, but he was a cool guy to walk with. He will be missed.
Soon, the hospitalero came and checked Margaret and I in. Yondue, Woody, and Ainabelle were already there. Turns out they had not walked 57 kilometers yesterday and had taken a shorter day today to recover. It was good to see them again!
Margaret and I then went to check out the market. It was very tiny, but had an actually decent selection. On my way back, I called my cousin Trever to wish him a happy birthday, and I sat outside as I talked with him for about 20 minutes. During the call, Joe and Kate arrived. We went back to the supermarket and got supplies for dinner, then returned to the albergue.
I took some time to get my bunk situated, and said hi to Dan and Sam as they came in. Dan had brought my forgotten underwear and hand towel for me, since I had left them in the albergue this morning on accident. Thanks savior Dan! I then took a nice shower, wrote a bit of my blog for the day, and called Mikayla.
I had seen a sign in the albergue advertising massages in the village, and decided that I'd try it. Dan and Sam both highly recommended it and neither had ever had one before a week ago. After a brief impromptu debate on abortion with Joe and Kate 😬 I headed to the massage place at 8:00. It was an hour long, and was a good relaxing massage. Afterwards, I ate a meager dinner and then wrote my blog in the dining area.
I'm feeling sort of alone again. I'm craving the comraderie that is common among Christians. It's so odd to encounter so few on the Camino. Wolfgang was great to talk to, but as I mentioned, he was more of the lone wolf type and was too fast for me anyways. I'm sure I'll meet more in the coming weeks, especially as it gets into the spring season, but for now I'll just rely on God and spend more time praying. It really is a big comfort to me.
It is 11:00, and definitely time to go to bed. I need to make up for my lack of sleep. Tomorrow we head to León, which is 25 kilometers. Due to the size of the city and the amount of things to do, we may all take a rest day and spend a day sight seeing. Thank you for a great day, God!