Overview of Day 3 on the Camino!
*What a gorgeous day… temps peaking at 77 degrees. Flowers blooming, no bugs, clear and sunny skies. So much color and texture on the walk today!
*I walked through Melide, a bustling little city of 8,000 people. It is known for numerous pulperías…serving pulpo (octopus). It was too early in the day for me to seriously entertain that particular texture for my palate, so I moved through the city and enjoyed the sights, sounds, people, and architecture.
*Late morning, I stopped in a small shop to get some recommendations for my next albergue. Oh, I wish my Spanish was better. Qué Lástima. I had 7 years of instruction in high school and college, and I spent 4 months prior to the trip faithfully opening up Duo Lingo each day. I even listened to a 30 lesson CD set that I checked out! Pshhhh…it all flew out of my brain over the Atlantic. I knew some basic vocabulary, but I thought I’d be better in conversation. As it was, most shopkeepers were about as skilled in English as I was in Spanish, and we somehow managed some communication between us. Today’s kind woman called and reserved a bed for me at Albergue Boente.
*My walk was shorter today…13 miles. I found myself in Boente at 1 p.m. Holy Cow, I had a whole afternoon on my hands for rest and relaxation. I was thrilled to see that there was a pool in the backyard of the albergue. I registered, paid for that night’s pilgrim’s meal, handwashed and hung some clothes, and immersed weary feet and emerging shin splints in a chilly, refreshing pool that I had all to myself for the first hour.
*I enjoyed lunch out front at a sidewalk table while watching pilgrims pass by and press on further toward Arzua, the next bigger hub town. Directly across the street was Boente’s Catholic church. Inside, pilgrims would stop, stamp their pilgrim passports and perhaps light a candle and say a prayer. I spent some time in the church balcony reading through some Scripture and hymn lyrics that I had taped into a little Camino quote book that I carried with me. Almost every village along the Camino has a church that is open to pilgrims who wish to join in Mass or enter for prayer and reflection. Sitting there, I experienced a profound sense of the sacred as I saw my own pilgrimage caught up in the grander story, a universal story that transcends age and borders and all outward marks of identity and form. It is both an old, old story, and a brand new story. A story with both unchanging central truths, and a story that continues to evolve with each new step taken.
*On the lighter side of things, I am so glad I brought a pair of earplugs. I hadn’t needed them until this night. I was in a room of bunks with 3 bunkmates, one of which was a Bulgarian man whose snoring was, shall we say, vigorous.
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