9/17 -Beth & A Smoothie
Today was a days out here that just felt good from beginning to end.
I met Beth at 7:15 this morning, still dark to walk together today. We met last night at Mass and the pilgrim blessing when I noticed she was wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt. Of course, I had to go up and ask her about it. It turns out her son is also at MSU and a second-year medical student at Michigan State. How funny is that? We both have boys in East Lansing, found out both nurses and somehow we meet each other in Spain on the Camino.
Today we walked 15 miles from Belorado to San Juan de Ortega, and literally never stopped talking. We covered just about every topic imaginable, kept an awesome pace, and before I knew it, the miles had flown by.
We knew today would have some pretty hilly terrain and had been warned that there wouldn't be many places to stop for food or water along the way. About five miles into the walk, we found a small café and stopped for breakfast and coffee. There we met an incredible couple from Sheridan, Wyoming, Corey and Judy. Corey is a surgeon and Judy is a nurse.
The scenery changed yet again today. We walked along winding roads through tiny villages, alongside the highway, past more but even larger sunflower fields and eventually up into the forest. The ground turned to red clay as we climbed higher, and the smell of the pine trees was so vibrant .Definitely hilly, but honestly having someone to talk with made the climbing easier And then, in the middle of seemingly nowhere, appeared a small sign “ Dr Coffee “ A man had pulled up in a van and created this little Camino oasis with hot coffee, bananas, water, and beautifully painted Camino shells. Of course, we stopped for coffee. Even in the middle of a forest in Spain, the Camino knows when you need caffeine.
As we continued through the woods, we started noticing arrows made out of rocks along the trail instead of the traditional painted yellow arrows. Another little reminder that there are so many different ways the Camino points you forward.
Eventually, we walked into the tiny village of San Juan de Ortega, very happy to have arrived. The village is home to a beautiful church and monastery, with the tomb of San Juan de Ortega and centuries-old scenes depicting legends from his life, including his shipwreck and the story of the white bees. Then came today's accommodation adventure. I had booked an albergue. Not exactly high on my list of preferred Camino experiences, but I was determined to be open-minded. I checked in and was assigned bed number 2. I walked upstairs bed number2 was approximately one inch away from bed number 1. No curtain. No divider. Just me and a complete stranger practically sharing a bed with 21 roommates in one room I stood there for a minute and thought, Nope.
I walked back downstairs and found a hotel about 19 miles away, called a cab, and off I went. So much for trying , but just hot happening But actually one of my favorite moments of the day happened just before all of that. For miles, Beth and I had been talking about how surprisingly difficult it has been to eat well on the Camino. We're walking so many miles every day, yet finding healthy, filling food isn't always easy. At some point we started talking about how much we both love smoothies in the morning and missed them. Then we walked into tiny San Juan de Ortega( population 600 ) And there, outside one of the smallest little restaurants, was a sign: SMOOTHIES. We just looked at each other and laughed. Of course there were smoothies. So instead of excited to have a cold beer after a long walk , we both had delicious smoothies with real fruit , another Camino moment.
Buen Camino.