The heat is ending tonight!! Yahoo!! The afternoon high has been 90° everyday since we arrived. We have been rising early and hiking quickly to avoid the heat. We purposely keep rest stops to a minimum and very short because we know each minute not moving when the air is relatively cool is a minute in the heat of the day. But, it is ending. Tomorrow’s high is predicted to be 74°. Tomorrow night’s low, 51°. Everyone on the walk is talking about the end of the scorching weather. Santa is coming to the Camino disguised as a cold front and delivering what everyone wants, cold air.
Albergue life is turning out to be a “class reunion” every night. Either through planning or accident we have been with the same people that we know each night. Of course, there are new-to-us people every night, so the cadre of people we surround ourselves magnifies with each night. Last night we were on crisp, white linen sheets. Tonight, we are on vinyl or rubber covered mattresses (to discourage bed bugs which we have grown to understand are quite a problem along the pilgrim trail) with paper “sheet” and “pillow case”. We are on bunk beds. Sally takes the bottom bunk to avoid having to perform 5.8 moves to get into bed. I have the top bunk. We have 12 in our room tonight, 10 women and two men.
Having a shower everyday is wonderful, especially with the hot temperatures. There is usually a ratio of about 10-1 for the shower, the same for toilets. Considering people arrive at different times during the day as they straggle in off the trail, there is never a rush to the shower. I have not seen a line up yet.
Tonight I felt like I was in the middle of a girl’s dorm party. Annamarie from Denmark has a massive blister on the ball of her left foot. Five women assisted in an “operation” to redress her foot, as only five women can-giggling, talking, sharing stories from the heart, the normal girl stuff. If one is hoping for a long, quiet night’s sleep, communal hostel room may not be the best environment.
This morning we rose at 5:30am and rearranged our gear for today’s novel walking protocol. All our gear would ride in the Castello’s car except for a small pack with water and food. We were being as quiet as possible to avoid waking our 4 roommates. Breakfast is served at 6:00 am and we paid the 3€ to participate. It consisted of corn flakes, milk, white bread, jam, muffins and coffee. The Castillo’s ate with us. It took about another 15 minutes after breakfast to get out the door. Maximo, Gonzalo, Alba and I headed out about 6:25 while Sally and Nerea and Raul stayed, waiting until 8 or so to begin driving to our location, 6 miles up the trail at Intero de la Vega.
The morning was cool, clear and quiet. Maximo set a brisk pace as we headed gently downhill to cross the Rio Odra. Gonzalo and Adra began to fall behind a bit and Maximo would call out for them to catch up.
After the river came a 500’ climb over a ridge. The road was steep and we quickly reached the top. Maxi and I waited about 5 minutes for the kids to catch up. We were on the top of the ridge only a few minutes before the route plummeted down the other side. There was a lovely view from the top.
I talked with Jim a bit for a while at the bottom and soon we had traversed the distance to near our meeting point. Maxi called Nerea to see where her, Raul and Sally were and found they were very close by, just across the bridge 1/2 a mile away. We started to walk to the bridge down the narrow one lane road. Looking up, we saw the car driving to us. They stopped and chatted for a bit, then turned around, crossed the bridge again and we met them on the other side. When we crossed we met again. Now Maxi took the wheel with Raul and drove to Fromista while Nerea, Gonzalo, Alba, Sally and I walked the next five miles to Boadilla de Camino where Maxi was waiting for us at a small cafe/albergue. Sally had a Pepsi and decided to ride the next 3 miles to Fromista due to the rising heat. Raul joined us for the walk. The trail headed out of town and soon ran parallel to a canal. We walked on the dike that held the canal in place. It was torturous to walk next to all that water in the heat of the late morning without stopping to swim. Soon we reached a dam on the canal, crossed it, and we were in Fromista. Maxi greeted us on the street and led us back to the shady side of a cafe (Pan and Mas) where we surprised Sally by jumping our from around the corner.
The municipal albergue where we planned to stay didn’t open until 1:00. We had a few minutes to kill. We sat and talked in the shade, then moved to the park just outside the door.
We registered at the desk right behind the Castillos, then went up to our room to find a bunk. We picked a bunk adjacent to the window, hoping some airflow might alleviate the punishing heat in this non-airconditioned building. The ritual is putting paper pillow case and mattress cover on, emptying out the important items onto the bed and head for shower. On these hot days, sweating is constant and a shower to wash off the salt and sweat is a little slice of heaven. After the shower comes the washing of the clothes. Shirt, underwear and socks are primary, preparing them for the next day, but occasionally a towel or other stinky item sees the soap.
We had arranged to eat lunch with the Castillos, so we moved enmass next door to the restaurant and enjoyed a lunch together. Sally and I shared a green salad and a chicken thigh and leg with some fries.
After lunch, a nap seemed in order. We returned to our bunks. In truth, I worked on the blog while she lay on her bunk and sweated. After about 15 minutes of that we gave up and headed back to the restaurant to use their air conditioning. We talked a little, but in truth Sally was a little ill and soon laid her head on the table and fell asleep. I typed for another 20-30 minutes, until Maxi came in. For the next two hours we finally got to know each other a bit. Using my phone, the Bluetooth keyboard and Google Translate we finally got past “Quantos ninos?” and “Donde esta tu casa?” Switching the translation for English->Spanish and Spanish->English and employing the keyboard to facilitate quick typing, we were able to take our conversations to a deeper level. We talked about our kids and their successes. He talked about Raul and Alba with such pride and affection. I had seen it in his actions and facial expressions over the past three days, but now he was able to say in words what he felt and thought. I learned about his business enterprises and the time and effort he puts forth to support his family. He and Nerea (pronounced Nah-dah-ya) grew up together in the same building since age 4 and attended school together. All their family still lives within a few kilometers of each other. His father runs the family vineyard and has since the Spanish Civil War. And more.
He finally had to leave to attend to his family and Sally and I headed back to the albergue to have a dinner of day old dry bread, meat and cheese in the common rooms downstairs. It was delicious.
We headed up to our beds, hoping to turn in early, but our girls slumber party ensued and it wasn’t until nearly 10:00pm before the lights were turned out and the room got quiet.
It is a nice thing that everyone walks 10-15 miles a day. They fizzle our quickly in the evenings and fall asleep quickly. The room turned quiet, as if someone had thrown a switch.
Communal breakfast at the albergue
Sunrise over Castrojeriz
Gonzalo, Maxi and Alba on the trail
Crossing the bridge to meet the car.
Walking along the canal
Maxi points out where we are and what weather we will get in the restaurant
Alba and her mom Nerea
Church in Fromista built in 1040 AD
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