The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
……….
Damn my backpack felt heavy today. I even said to Stephen yesterday, “I must be getting stronger because my pack feels like it’s an extension of me. It feels pretty light.” I’m an idiot. I still can’t believe I left my stuff behind and didn’t realize it sooner. Oh well. Onward and upward.
Today the path split into ultimately three routes. Option 1, continue directly on the Norte route, 2. take the alternate road towards the Primativo route (the hardest but shortest route over the mountains) or 3. the alternate route to the start of the Primativo at Oviedo but then head back up to the Norte. The third option would add an extra day and about 20-30km possibly 40km (honestly we have zero idea how far out of the way it is) but Oviedo is supposed to be an amazing town.
The decision of which route to take today seemed to weigh heavy on a few of the pilgrims. You have to know yourself and what you can physically, mentally & emotionally handle but it also breaks up groups of people who have been hiking together for awhile. These decisions are like that movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow. It will change the trajectory of your Camino. It’s makes for a good reflection on life.
Last night everyone had their guidebooks and Camino apps out on their phones trying to figure out which route would be best for them or their group. Everyone kept asking me and I said I wasn’t ready to make a decision. For me, my gut is my guide. If I think about it too much and I’m in my head, I’ll make the “wrong” decision. If I get still and quiet, the best answer for me will usually rise to the surface and I’ll just know. Timing is everything.
Most everyone had made their decision before dinner. Stephen asked me a million times what I wanted to do (because he said he was going wherever I went) and I had to keep reminding him, I’m a late bloomer. I need time. I’ll let you know as soon as I know. He is impatient sometimes.
During the middle of dinner I blurted out that I was going to do option 3. Add the extra day to see Oviedo but not hike the Primativo. I wanted to continue on the Norte. Decision made.
After our coffee this morning we started hiking and we got to the intersection where you have to make the final decision. Stephen kept asking me, “are you sure?” I said yes. He still questioned me. I said I’ll flip a coin and that will be the final answer. We will let fate or destiny decide it. The woman from the house at the divide even came outside to see what we were doing. If I was her, I’d get a lawn chair, and table and a coin of chance just to make it more entertaining.
Heads is Oviedo, tales is the traditional Norte route.
Heads won. (Of course, the Universe was not going to undermine my gut. Plus it always has my back.)
Oviedo here we come.
We started walking. It was beautiful. We started to ascend into the mountains. It’s lush green and the animals are grazing all around. It’s wonderful.
We came to a fork in the road and there were many arrows for both directions. Since we took the alternate route, it was not well marked in our books or on the app. Stephen has hiked this little section before so he said to go right at one of the forks. I piped up and said, “it feels wrong to me.” He didn’t really seem to care about my gut feeling. So I followed his lead anyway. We got about a half mile (1k) or so down the road and my gut really stated to tell me this was not the way. I asked him to stop and look at the maps again. It was the wrong way. We’d been walking downhill a little so we had to climb back up the hill. We got back to the intersection and discussed it again. We took the other route from the fork and found Dora. Whew!
We all ended up hiking together and taking breaks where we could…even at an old bus stop. Dora and I had an amazing Camino conversation about life and death and the meaning of it all. She shared some interesting perspectives that made me think outside the box.
Our hostel is good. Pablo and David are here. The guy who runs the hostel could not wait to tell me that his mother was American. He pulled out his identification card to prove it. I like those little connections.
The biggest hill was 400+ meters today. Not easy but we made it.
Mantra for the big hills:
I am strong
This is easy
My butt better look amazing when this hike is over.
My knee is in quite a bit of pain today.
Second mantra
My knee is healing with each step
My knee is healing with each step
My knee is healing with each step
My knee is healed
I got flower bombed many times today.
Willy sent me this text message tonight. “He who goes to Santiago de Compostela and not to Oviedo, goes to the servant and forgets the Master!” – an old pilgrim saying.
I guess I chose the correct route based off of my intention for this Camino.
Quote of the day: Dora to me, “there is a line between genius and crazy. I think you have that.” Then she recommended that I read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Psychotic-Chinese-Gao-Ming/dp/7550263930
I’m going to bed early and resting the knee. I’m mentally, emotionally and physically drained. I even skipped dinner tonight and Pablo was kind enough to do my laundry for me (he even folded it…what a kind pilgrim) so I could rest.
Villaviciosa – Pola de Siero – mileage unknown
Goodnight and much love from Spain.
