The instruction before leaving was to take the time to smell the roses…. and so on purpose I have made sure that I have stopped to smell roses along the way, much to the amusement of my fellow Peregrinos. So today they baited Lori to get the photo – and then Lori got into it as well – but we need to work on her style.
The Meseta is BEAUTIFUL and in June is NOTHING like they have described in the books. We are lucky to be walking in the “green” and not the “yellow” of harvest. The walk was a breeze, such flat undulating country and apart from the civil guard whizzing past us on four wheel motor bikes (who knows what they were checking) out in the fields, only the Peregrinos were out and about. What is it about this country – Julie, a fellow Aussie walker swears the Martians have come and taken most of the locals away…there is NO ONE to be seen ANYWHERE during the day….what do they do? Where do they go? We know that today was Monday and we know that Monday = weekend but truly there was NO ONE ANYWHERE.
The town we are in, Castrojeriz is beautiful. 700 inhabitants and about 2km long, many of the houses have been restored and the place is spotless. We again shared a great 3 course meal provided as a Pilgrim menu with wine and bread included for 10 Euro. To top it off we were all offered liquors and for the Croatian readers, they make Travarica here too!
There is a wonderful sense of comraderie amongst the crew walking and it is best felt in the hour leading to dinner. We sat in a cellar having a drink before dinner with Aussie, Americans, Canadians, Norwegians, Indians and Irish and basically everyone is chatting away, sharing photos and stories of the walk. It’s 10pm and still light and apart from us two insomniacs, there isn’t a sound in the place. Fast asleep and ready for early starts tomorrow. INSANELY short walk tomorrow because of an accomodation issue which will bite us the following day when we have to make up the distance.
As much as style is very important when sniffing roses I think Lori’s approach has a certain savoir faire all of its own. I’m loving the photos – who knew you has such a fine aesthetic when wielding the lens.
you both look fit, happy and healthy – don’t forget the suffering required to receive PI’s.
Heheh suffering is there but I have to admit nowhere near as much as I thought it would be. Neither of has had blisters and apart from the aches and pains that you would expect after walking 25km we’re both fine. Lori is far better than me on the flat and now that she has given up using the poles on the flat she is racing! I have become very addicted to the rhythm of using the poles and I find that as my pack is heavier because I am carrying more water (and a spare pair of boots) the poles are helping me to keep a good posture.