Saturday, May 4, 2024
Today was a shorter day of hiking, and we are really tired. So we slept in an extra half hour. I think everyone had a tough time sleeping last night because we had a world class snorer in our albergue.
The walk from Camponaraya to to Villafranca del Bierzo was pretty easy -- although my shoulders feel more sore every day. Also, some of the kids -- especially Alicia -- feel totally dejected after finding out that Betty and I need a couple more lighter days to recover from the Cruz de Ferro day. Tomorrow we are doing less than 20k again. The kids are great, and they can see the value in all of this and they are grateful. They just have also been away from home and friends for a very long time, and they are feeling ready to get back to life. It’s all normal, but if you could say a little prayer for us all, that would be great.
The last big obstacle between us and Santiago is called O Cebreiro. It’s the last tall mountain, and I’m feeling confident we will make it, but also a bit apprehensive about getting over it.
This albergue is pretty unique. The real owner is a man in his mid-80s who used to be a priest or monk but then gave up that life because he wanted to help people on the Camino.
He made a yummy dinner for us, but the highlight of this albergue was Jaris. She started walking the Camino a while ago with her enormous dog Maktub (half mastiff and half German shepherd). When she got to this albergue she just decided to stop to help out, and she’s been here for a month.
In the afternoon she took River, Ian, and me out for a walk to feed some donkeys. We had an awesome time. She was so good with River especially. It was another magical moment that Ian loved. I tell you, Ian is as mercurial as they come. He’s got big emotions. When he is up, he’s way up, and when he is down he’s totally down. On many occasions on this trip I’ve thought that I wish that we all had more memory of the good when we are in the middle of the bad. My Grandpa Spencer W. Kimball once said that the most important word in the scriptures is “Remember,” and the older I get the more convinced I am he was right. We just need to remember the good that God has given us, and it will help us to hold onto hope when things are bad.
Dinner tonight was good. We had a communal pilgrim dinner prepared by our host. The prayer that he gave was great. We all stood and help hands and held them up in the air and we finished the prayer with Ultreia! Suseia! Santiago!
The kids are all calmed down now, but Betty seems a bit melancholy. We are getting so close, but things are changing. There are many more pilgrims. There are fewer empty beds in the hostels. That means we need to plan more to make sure we always have a place to stay. This shower is definitely not good. Maybe hits 3 of our criteria -- and hot water was not one of them. It was just kind of lukewarm, and it looked like something from a horror movie. Oh how I miss my shower at home.
Oh, and tonight I fixed Kimball’s shoes with some duct tape. There is just nowhere to buy new ones for him.
