Camino francés - Page 9

Carrion de los Condes - Sahagun (ca. 41 km)

This morning we said goodbye to Miguel Angel, he had to go home to his office. We had a big breakfast with him, then we went on our way and he to the bus. He was a very calm and pleasant person and he left me his gloves and bathing slippers. Yes, I was as always, a little sloppy on the road 🙂 After we left the place, Alfred said I could now close my eyes, it would go 20 km only straight ahead. So it was then. Dead straight road, through the fog left and right only little to see, these 20 km became a psychological torture. One did not see any progress. We chatted a lot to make it more entertaining. The first planned bar after 20 kilometers had closed, instead we met the French brothers completely disillusioned in a bus stop. We tried some conversation, but that was no longer possible with the two. On one of the previous stages, a Frenchman had already come to meet us, just as broken and gesticulating wildly, because the accommodations were not opened as they should be in his opinion. Anyway, we had to continue and were rewarded in a place a few kilometers with a coffee in a kind of social meeting place. Here bullfights were on TV and Alfred explained to me the pros and cons around this spectacle. Whether animals or environment torment, man lets his fun cost what. The next 10 km were quite hard and on the futile search for another bar we met Klaus again.

He had just made lunch and wanted to go with us to Sahagun. In the meantime we were already walking briskly, but Klaus had a step on it, to which we could get used only with difficulty. With giant steps and self-carved pilgrim's stick he walked in front of us. He had walked from Heidelberg through France to here, only over the Pyrenees he had taken the train, he had been advised against it because of the snow. He had 1700 km behind him. Up to France he had spent the night partly in hostels, partly in a tent, but then sent the tent home. His Boss gave it so long freely to the order situation in the building trade in the spring again better would. His motivation for this tour was to get his life back on track. Arriving in Sahagun, our bones ached from the ride today. We spent the night in a church whose attic had been converted into a hostel. It was relatively pleasant here, only the shower water was not very warm. In the evening we went to a bar around the corner and Alfred introduced me to local hard drinks. Orujo, the strong liquor, was available in many different variations. My favorite, however, was Calimocho, ice-cold red wine with cola. It was again very relaxed, everyone gave a few stories to the best, one of them is told here, which reflects the seriousness with which the pilgrimage on the Way of St. James is treated, at least here in the region. In France, a pilgrim wanted to steal the beautiful self-made Pilgrim stick of Klaus steal. He was caught by the hospitalero and immediately expelled from the hostel. As if that were not enough, a call was made directly to Santiago, so that this pilgrim does not receive the Compostella. I did not encounter any criminal elements, I was only advised not to leave valuables out of sight and especially in Santiago to watch out for pickpockets.

Sahagun - Reliegos (ca. 30 km)

Four of us started, Jana, Alfred, Klaus and me and so it stayed until Santiago, only Alfred has to leave us in Leon to go to work. The route today was again flat and monotonous, it rained all day. I talked a long time with Alfred, who shared many of my interests. He called his wife "The punisher" because of the mileage of the stages. Because he was getting enormous foot problems today. A higher authority seemed to understand this, because Jana shortly thereafter fell lengthwise into one of the brooks, which ran by the many rain over the roads. No, we did not laugh quietly to ourselves 🙂. But since we almost every day were soaked to the skin, it was less bad. In addition, we were already just before Reliegos. The hostel was quickly found in the small town, some pilgrims were already here. Jakob, a young American, Jana knew him from one of her previous caminos and they fell into each other's arms. A young Spanish woman was still here, and the Polish woman with the two and a half year old child that we had heard about several times before. She was a tall robust woman, the child also looked older and was in good health. She had walked approx. 3000 km up to here run, from Poland and wanted still to Murcia in Portugal.

Later, a few hostels down the road, I asked her why she went that way, despite having a toddler. She had no longer believed in the goodness of people and wanted to go in search of it. When asked about her conclusion so far, she replied that she had already found it again in some people on the way. I wanted to know what she would do if her stroller broke down. She would go ask people for a new stroller. Everything sounded very logical and consistent, but it was a bit daring. We all spent the night in a large room on thick mats, for the small place, the hostel was very well equipped. The hospitalero, who appeared after our dinner, told us, Martin Sheen would have also stayed here during the filming of "The way". In the evening we went again to the one open bar of the place. We had super food and lots of calimochos. Here I had a very inconspicuous, but for me poignant moment. A very old man with a petrified face sat at our next table. He never laughed and stared ahead or at the television broadcasting soccer. As we rose to leave, he approached us gravely, squeezed hand to each of us, looked us in the eye and wished us a "Buen Camino" in a sincere voice. I had the feeling for a moment I felt a deep humanity, however it could be defined.