Category: A Very Short Story

From the Short Story Vault

13 September: Carrion of the Lost Condom to Terradillos

Did 27 Klicks today. Last day on the Maseta. Still flat. Many pilgrims avoid the Maseta and bus through it. Me? I loved it. I guess we Canadians are not intimidated by flat terrain. I mean, if God wanted us to be afraid of this sort of terrain then why did he give us Saskatchewan???

Rained like the dickens. Loud glorious thunderstorms. Reminded me of southern Ontario growing up. Poured like it was Georgia. Ran into Serge, the French Canadian. He is one to be avoided. He snores like crazy – but is an ardent Quebec patriot, nationalist and pines for separation. He loves to needle me about that but when he realized I knew more about Quebec history than he did and that I was one hundred percent in favour of Quebec separation he gives me a wide berth. Also, we ran into a lovely gal from Quebec. Someone asked her- not me – if she was from Canada she said no, she was from Montreal Quebec. There you have it. Even on this Camino, one cannot escape the politics.

Alas we had to say goodbye to our German friends. They were great. Mathias, in particular, is an amazing person. He is a psychologist from Bavaria, Germany. He is a very religious man and always joking, smiling and an extremely positive individual. We connected and had a great time together with Jerry and the others. I will miss them.Mathias is on the right. Jerry, me and Margaret from Munich. Great people. Rhinard is not shown. He is a pottery maker from Hamburg. The soup nazi is not shown either. No soup for you!

It has been great.

Cheers.

12 September: Boadillo to Carrion of the Lost Condom

Well that was a real over reaction. The 17 klicks turned out to be a non event. The young Spanish entrepreneur set of coffee stands in very strategic locations, about every 8 kilometers, so the 17 kilometer hike was not bad. We covered it off in about 3 hours. The German group are still with us and a lot of fun. Claudia, one of the german ladies is a bit intense. We call her the Camino Nazi. Last night we had dinner together and I related the Seinfeld episode about the soup nazi. No Soup For You, and then I realized what I had said and it went over like a hindenburg zeppelin. Not good. John, stop putting you foot in your mouth.

There they are and they are still smiling at me. The soup nazi front and centre.
The walk was uneventful. 5 th day on the Maseta. Flat, flat,flat but cool and finally walking was pleasant. We covered off 27 kilometers. I think I might have made a wrong turn somewhere.

We arrived in Carrion of the Lost Condom late afternoon. We stayed at a monastery. After buying some flip flops, we had to attend a round table on The Way and tell the other folk as to why we are doing the Camino.. It was interesting and very emotional for many who attended. For most doing the Camino related to some personal tragedy.  A death, depression, lost opportunity, not knowing what to do etc. I talked around the end. So, why am I doing the Camino? Well, for those that know me they know that I love to walk. Walking puts one at peace with one self, with nature and with the world in general. Walking provides an oppotunity to reflect on the past, immerse oneself in the present and peer into the future. With nature it gives you a sense of peace, well being and a sense of belonging in the natural world around you. Added to that you can enjoy the culture,history, architecture, art, people, food, wine and ambience. I felt that way when I did the French walk and now the Spanish way. It is the same sense of intellectual passion and expression and that is why I am doing the Camino.

One can read too much into the Camino. I feel that they are promoting the Camino as something that it is not. After all it is just a trail, a path, a route not unlike many others out there such as the Appalachian trail, the Bruce Peninsula trail or the many others. That is my take on it.

But at the end of the day, sitting there in the garden with a cold beer and reflecting on the days slog one can only smile at the day,s grind. All is right with the world. Life is good and    even moreso with good family and friends.

Luv ya Dot. Happy birthday.

Cheers.

11 September: Fromista to Carrion de Los Condes

Happy Birthday Patsy.

Only 18 klicks today.  Extremely  humid until about 10am. Then you can literally feel it lift and we had a beautiful easy walk. That is until we started past a number of fields and midgens (Northern Irish for mooshes or mozzies). I was ok but Jerry was ney a wee bonny as he had bites all over his face and bare legs.

Jerry the alien from the planet “ Argon.” Seriously he was in misery due to the bites. And that has been our existence here. Every day seems to bring its own set of challenges. Torrential rain of biblical proportions, then boots caked in mud, trails covered with rocks boulders and stone, flash flooding then extreme heat and humidity that is through the roof. Finally today we get great walking temperature and then nature laughs at us to say not so fast Johnnie and throws the third plague of Egypt at us with swarms of flies and mozzies. Thanks Moses!

We are half way there and in our 4th day on the Maseta. Tomorrow will be our last on this broad plain but the most challenging. We have a 17 kilometer hike with no shade, water, or villages. We will do 28 klicks overall. That is why today was short so that tomorrow we will tackle the 17 km right away and when it is cool. I don,t know if you can tell by the pics but this area reminds me of the prairies back home.El Alberto Condido Spain.

Santo Manitoba Spain.

And this is my other aussie walking colleague. But with the other aussie ying she is my aussie yang. She is a real sweetheart. She is 75 and keeps up with all of us. She is like the ever ready rabbit in that she just keeps going and going and going. Her name is Maryanne. She is small, wiry, thin as a waif but very headstrong and determined.

We also call her the bag lady as she has a bevy of little bags attached to her backpack filled with nuts, fruit, knick knacks and other stuff. Come to think of it we haven,t run into the aussie yang for a few days now. Thank you for that…..eeeeyeah mate!

Best to expand the pic on your device to see clearly.

 

10 September: Castrojimiz to Fromista

26 klicks today. Started out with a mind blowing hill. A wakeup call. Wow. It was tough. But we did it. Jerry has this system we follow. We walk 100 paces, stop, take 10 or 20 seconds break, look around and then start again.

That is me at the top of a 300 metre hill climb this mornin.

Castrojimiz was interesting. Spread out in a linear pattern at the bottom of a really tall hill. At the top were the ruins of a medieval castle of the time of El  Cid. Views for miles around. The town was also known as a retirement place for Spanish Dukes and Counts or the lower classes of Spanish Royalty. It also has a nunnery that was established in the fourteenth century. Turns out the nuns were not fanatical enough so the local bishop closed it down and kicked the nuns out. It subsequently turned adeinto a cemetery, jail, and now ruins. Great history here. As a history buff how I love this country.

We are in out third day in the Maseta, an area flat, barren and hot. No shade.  Turns out many pilgrims pass on this area and take a bus to avoid it. Me? I love it. It reminds me of our vast prairie and being on the Navy all my life it brings me back to the big sky, vast horizons and broad landscapes. Love it.El Saskatchewandido Spain.

What really bugs one here is that the distances are out of whack. There are real world kilometers and then there are Camino kilometers. Today we walked for 3 hours to arrive at the first village. It said we did 9 kilometers whereas Jerry,s gps said we did 13 kilometers. It is a real demotivator.

Made it to Formista.  Hot, hot hot. They have a canal here with locks.

HOLA

Brenda from Oregon (right) and Margaret from Munich. HOLA.