Tuesday, April 23, 2024
This morning I read this quote on Facebook. I love this idea.
Hiking - "I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, 'A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them." -- John Muir
We got a really slow start to the day. I think that after the cold blustery wind yesterday, nobody was really excited to get going.
Today there was thankfully no wind, but it was bitter cold in the morning. We were right around 30 degrees.
We also had some grumpy kids. River was grumpy about everything. So was Anahi. She has been so excited to speak with Dutch people that she has a tendency to race ahead and leave us all behind. We don’t love that.
My shoulders were also pretty sore this morning. I just couldn’t get comfortable with River, and she was really wiggly.
After a few kilometers I just told Betty “I can’t do this anymore,” and I put River down and took off my pack. Then River said she wanted to be in my pack.
I’ve been sending my heaviest items (laptop and cables) by transport between towns, so I’ve got a bit more room. So I decided I’d give it a try with her actually inside the backpack.
At first it was great, but after a while it became agony. The weight distribution was all wrong. I carried her a big chunk of the day back there, and she loved it, but it’s not a viable solution for us.
So in the end I put her back on my shoulders, and she felt much better.
Today we hiked to a town called Calzadilla. The albergue is nice, but the town is pretty crummy. The one store just takes advantage of pilgrims. So we ate at the bar. We can get big bocadillos (sandwiches) for everyone for about 4-5 dollars each. It’s not too bad. The albergue was run by Brazilians, and it was fun to visit with them.
The albergue had some really fun outside games including corn hole and a giant connect four. River and I played those for a while.
I also put my feet in the ice-cold swimming pool. That felt awesome. While I sat there I visited with a guy named Christian. He was really kind, and he told me how grateful he was to have taken his son on adventures when he was younger.
Betty and I also had a good chat tonight. I think one of the hardest things about this whole trip is that we just don’t have hardly any privacy. We have so much time to connect with the kids, but we have not been connecting with each other.
This Camino is no joke. It’s really tough, and it’s tougher with kids and a tight budget. But Betty is such a trooper. Her foot has been sore again, and I know there is a part of her that wants to throw in the towel, but she is still here. I’m so grateful to have her around for this. I marvel at her determination and grit. She is just the best, and I’m excited to get home so that we can reconnect a bit. It’s just been tough on the road.
Tomorrow we’ve got rain again in the forecast. Today was beautiful. Sunny, but not too hot. I’m hoping for another day like that. We will see.
