Still in the meseta, today’s walk started even earlier because we were already near the center and the heat will be intense. We had to be a little conservative with our water consumption since the closest town is day’s stop. We were also running low on cash and hoping to find an ATM in Castrojeriz. A lot of interesting people today, not least of whom was Santa Claus.
Oh I know, it's off-season, which is probably why, in lieu of lugging a red velvet sack filled with presents and wearing his Christmas uniform, he's sporting hiking clothes and a goody bag of medicines and foot relief
implements for weary pilgrims instead.
This big man with a loud voice, who talks like Michael Caine, sets up camp from town to town, going into albergues, opening conversations by asking, "How's your foot?" and "Have you got any blisters?" and generally asking about the condition of pilgrims. He looks at pilgrims feet, offering Compeed and other goodies to soothe whatever aches and pains pilgrims have.
He said that from the time he started doing this work, and even when he did his camino 10 years ago, I was the first Filipina he's ever met. He looked at my feet, saw the Compeed and checked the slight swelling and gave me a bandage to minimize the friction and to prevent blisters. I told him, has has to meet my sister (who would be Filipina number 2). What I actually meant was, my sister has to meet you. So, I half dragged Anj to the reception to have her feet looked at. She got some wool padding and ibuprofen gel to ease some of the pain in her ankles. And thus we were introduced to this amazing product. :D
He was quite chatty and we traded stories for a bit. We told him we were supposed to bus it to Fromista but we were running low on cash and needed to find an atm quick and none of the previous towns had any, and he said, "I can give you some money right now, how much do you need?" He actually volunteered to give us money! We learned that he was a Franciscan brother and he's been doing this work for 10 years, checking albergues and helping out pilgrims. Anyway, we let him go with a hug and our gratitude since he still had several albergues to visit before his day was done.
...about
this experience in a chronological order but sometimes things are clearer when
presented in a seeming disarray.
It's day 13
and I haven't been able to write every day. Sometimes, I'm just too tired to
care or too much in pain to lift a finger. Not that there hasn't been anything
to write about, there are so many things happening everyday and so many people
I meet that after a while, it all becomes a jumble in my mind. If you are a
person who is quite comfortable with random conversations, then this is the
place for you. If you are not, then it can be challenging. But consider it good
practice anyway, in different languages, mind you. It doesn't matter that you
don't speak each other's language, you will always find a way to communicate.
Kindness knows no barrier, and here you find it in spades.
I told Anj
one time that if we take all the kindness and the concern we find along the
Camino and spread it around, the world would be a much better place. People
here genuinely look out for each other and will take the time to carry on
random conversations to keep you company for a bit, especially when they see you're struggling. The three phrases you will
hear every few minutes are: "Hola!" "Buen Camino!" and
"Buenas dias!" or just "Buenas!" Oh and I actually meant four phrases when I said three. 😂
We've been
offered food, medicine and on more than one occasion, money, when we found
ourselves running low on cash with the next atm 4 or 5 towns away (that's 21 km
away, approximately a whole day's walk) Every day, you try to give back in
kindness what you receive and then some. And at the end of the day, you all end
up in the same town, share a meal and exchange wonderful stories of your day,
always accompanied by the ever-present glass of vino tinxto.
...greatest and
most valuable lessons I have learned so far during my camino is humility. I am
not as strong as I think I am. I'm definitely not better-equipped
physically. In fact, if we were to make a comparative chart of all the
pilgrims walking at this particular time, I would probably be at the bottom. And these people who bypass me are
not even the athletic types. These are people who are older than me, most of
the ones I've spoken with are grandparents in their 50s and 60s. This
embarrassed me at the beginning until I've made my peace with it and I just
accepted that I will never be as fast as them. And as people have been
reminding me every day, it's not a race, it's a walk. And a very personal one
at that.
In the 12
days that I have been walking, I have only been able to outpace one person. Her
name was Annie, she's from Australia. And the reasons I was able to outpace her
I think are because: 1. she was probably in her 80's when we met; 2. she was on
the first day of her camino; and 3. she was carrying a huge backpack that
probably weighed more than her. We were walking uphill out of Pamplona and she
had no idea what she got herself into.
Since then,
I can't say that I have gotten faster. The uphills are still a major struggle
for me but I have learned to listen to my body and I know when to push and when
to hold back. I also know when to ask for help and when to stop and rest Next
thing I have to learn is how to not stop so much so I can keep up with Anj. :D
Oh I know, it's off-season, which is probably why, in lieu of lugging a red velvet sack filled with presents and wearing his Christmas uniform, he's sporting hiking clothes and a goody bag of medicines and foot relief 
This big man with a loud voice, who talks like Michael Caine, sets up camp from town to town, going into albergues, opening conversations by asking, "How's your foot?" and "Have you got any blisters?" and generally asking about the condition of pilgrims. He looks at pilgrims feet, offering Compeed and other goodies to soothe whatever aches and pains pilgrims have. 
He said that from the time he started doing this work, and even when he did his camino 10 years ago, I was the first Filipina he's ever met. He looked at my feet, saw the Compeed and checked the slight swelling and gave me a bandage to minimize the friction and to prevent blisters. I told him, has has to meet my sister (who would be Filipina number 2). What I actually meant was, my sister has to meet you. So, I half dragged Anj to the reception to have her feet looked at. She got some wool padding and ibuprofen gel to ease some of the pain in her ankles. And thus we were introduced to this amazing product. :D
He was quite chatty and we traded stories for a bit. We told him we were supposed to bus it to Fromista but we were running low on cash and needed to find an atm quick and none of the previous towns had any, and he said, "I can give you some money right now, how much do you need?" He actually volunteered to give us money! We learned that he was a Franciscan brother and he's been doing this work for 10 years, checking albergues and helping out pilgrims. Anyway, we let him go with a hug and our gratitude since he still had several albergues to visit before his day was done.