I left late at around ten this morning, which is why I got stuck in at a good pace for the first few kilometres. I stopped off at one of the picnic areas along the way to have a drink of water and read some sentences and reflections that other pilgrims had left on a wooden post. Some were interesting and serve as proof that a lot of people do this Camino for a profound reason, existential many times, and not only to eat up so many kilometres. I also notice this in the conversations I have with people. On the first couple of days the majority give you some bizarre excuses to explain their presence here but, as we progress, these same people level with you and you almost always find out the real reason.
My case is quite similar. A lot of people ask me why I’m here and I haven’t divulged the truth to anyone as of yet. I consider my reasons too personal to go telling any Tom, Dick or Harry. I suppose that it’s the same for lots of other people when I’m possibly the one asking. In my case, I usually say that it’s a trip I’ve been wanting to do for many years now but that I’d never had the opportunity to do it before, on some occasions because I didn’t have the money, like when I was younger, and on others because I didn’t have the time, like when I started to work. And that’s no word of a lie. When I was eighteen years old and about to start University, three of my best friends decided to do the Camino de Santiago, which wasn’t as popular at that time as it is now and there weren’t as many hostels and provisioning places. One of these friends, Alberto, also affectionately known as "Pasi", asked me to come with them. He thought the experience would help us face the important new chapter we were starting and that it would be a trip that we would never forget. At that time I didn’t have the money to go off gallivanting here and there for a month so, as sorry as I was, I had to say no. So that trip was still pending and today, almost nineteen years later and just as I’m facing another new chapter in my life, I feel very fortunate to be here today walking this Camino that my dear friends "Pasi", Miguelo and Joaquín walked all those years ago.
At about eleven kilometres from Sahagún in Bercianos del Real Camino, I stopped for a rest and met Ruta and Szilvia who were finishing their lunch. I had already briefly met the Lithuanian girl, Ruta, as the Irish guy Kevin and his mother Phil had introduced me to her when they were still on the Camino. I only met Szilvia, who is from Hungary, today. After briefly saying hello, they continued on their way as I stayed in the café where they were to rehydrate myself a bit and stretch my legs. As I was about eight kilometres from El Burgo Ranero, I caught up with them again and we stopped off in the town together for a bite to eat.
In El Burgo Ranero I was absolutely delighted to run into “Kelly’s Heroes”, who I hadn’t seen since Izco, Navarra, about two weeks ago. Delighted despite the fact they gave me the bad news that Diego, Oddball’s brother, had had enough by the time they got to Burgos and went back to Barcelona because he couldn’t take any more. What a pity. Oddball told me that just before reaching Burgos he got tendonitis in his leg which left him unable to walk and he had to go to A&E. They prescribed him some rather strong painkillers which he had an allergic reaction to so he had to go running, tendonitis and all, back to A&E at the hospital. Anyway, he tells me that he’s alright now and is raring to go to get to Santiago and deal with whatever is thrown at him. He’s as hard as a rock this Oddball one. I have to remind the reader that these guys have walked all the way from Montserrat in the province of Barcelona. The rest of his gang are well, David’s beard has grown almost as much as mine and Jesús can now tie his hair back in a ponytail it’s got that long. They met a couple of Argentinian girls who they were talking to at the entrance of the hostel and Oddball introduced me to his girlfriend who came from Barcelona to do the last stretch of the Camino with him.
Ruta and Szilvia excused themselves and told me they were going to set off again to get to Reliegos as soon as possible. I, on the other hand, stayed a little while longer with “kelly’s Heroes” as we had quite a lot to catch up on from the last two weeks’ adventures. After chatting for an hour, I got ready to face the last thirteen kilometres of the day, the distance between me and Reliegos, but not before saying a quick hello to Santa Claus. The German is really proud of the hard graft I’m putting in with my rucksack firmly attached to my back, especially given how disappointed he was on the stage following Burgos when I told him I’d sent my luggage on to Castrojeriz by van.
On the way to Reliegos I met Kim, a Korean girl who could hardly walk and told me that she’s a little worried because she can’t find accommodation anywhere , she doesn’t speak Spanish and she’s scared it’s going to be dark soon at the pace she’s walking at. I tried to calm her down and reassured her that I wouldn’t leave her on her own and we would arrive in Reliegos together, and if we didn’t find room in the pilgrim hostel my friend David was going to come from León to pick me up and take me to his place where I was going to stay the night and so she needn’t worry as she could come with us too. Kim’s English is somewhat limited so I don’t know if she understood me completely or maybe what I said sounded too good to be true, coming from someone she’d just met. With only three kilometres to go until Reliegos, the Korean girl couldn’t take another step so I asked her to sit down at a picnic table beside us while I phoned my friend David, who was already waiting at a bar in the town, to ask him to come and pick her up. She seemed a little nervous but five minutes later when David appeared, her face lit up. We helped her into the car and I told them I’d see them in Reliegos, as I wanted to do all the kilometres of my pilgrimage on foot.
They managed to find room in the pilgrim hostel in Reliegos so Kim and David went to the Elvis Bar as they waited on me. You could tell from the bar’s exterior that it wasn’t going to let us down. I also met the Lithuanian girl Ruta, the Hungarian girl Szilvia and Alyson and Hilly inside and assumed this was the start of some kind of improvised party. I wasn’t far wrong but we had to cut it short at one point because David and I still had to drive to León and we wanted to get there in one piece if possible. After giving us a demonstration of some Irish dancing, Alyson and Hilly went back to their room to rest and Zach, an American guy from Kentucky who they met at the beginning of the Camino and who has travelled with them ever since, stayed with us. I had a beer with him and we chatted for a while, during which I couldn’t help but make reference to Kentucky fried chicken. I’m sure the inhabitants of that State must have had it up to here with that joke every time they travel somewhere. Zach took my piss-taking in good humour and I thought he was a really nice guy. He challenged me to guess his age and I said I could be his father and I wouldn’t give him any more than eighteen. To my surprise, he told me he was born the same year as I was and when I asked him what his secret to eternal youth was, he told me, with a good dollop of humour, it was fried chicken…
The owner of the bar, who everyone knows as the “Elvis of the Camino”, ended up being the greatest character I’ve met to date. Beers started to flow to the untamed rhythm of Elvis’ hips, which were moving to the beat of the songs playing. The “Elvis of the Camino” danced, let us take photos with him and gave us one of the best and most fun nights since we started this journey. A real gem of a barman and of a person, working away every day for the enjoyment of the pilgrim. Keeping with the theme of real gems, we had front row seats to a blister-bursting master class led by Doctor Kim. She was now relaxed after the stress from earlier and when she saw how dilapidated the place was, she didn’t have any qualms about bursting them at the bar as David and yours truly looked on in disbelief…
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario