“Self love, baby, self love. Keep choosing you, again, and again, and again.” – anonymous
My Camino song arrived today…before 9:30am. FINALLY!
It caught me completely off guard. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was “my song” for this particular Camino. It hit me like a wave crashing on the beach, that’s how I knew it was important. I got goosebumps and a few tears snuck out of the corners of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. I immediately remembered playing this song on the piano in my grandparents basement when I was a kid. I think one of the big lessons I was supposed to learn (I’ve learned so many) on this Camino is to love myself above all else. I’ve been looking for love everywhere but within me. It’s the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and I’ve been denying myself this present. Once we can truly do this for ourselves, then we can share it with others and shine a little brighter in our tiny corner of the world.
Greatest Love of All
(Version with Junior Vasquez)
Album: Whitney Houston
Writers: Linda Creed, Michael Masser
Lyrics:
I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be
Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone who fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
And so I learned to depend on me
I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
If It is the greatest love of all
I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be
I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
Is the greatest love of all
And if, by chance, that special place
That you’ve been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love
…………..
Today’s was a beautiful walk but very painful. I don’t want to complain about it so I’m not going to say much. I’m just focusing on one step at a time and I know I will get there…eventually. The day was actually really fun and we had a fantastic and unexpected experience that made cheaters out of all of us…including Stephen.
It was about 3pm and we were down to about the last 7k’s for the day. We started late and then spent a ton of time dilly dallying at the cafés. It was getting very steam and my leg was not good. I slowed way down behind the group and even sat on a guardrail by a tiny bridge to rest for a bit in the shade and take some more ibuprofen. Not long after I got going again, I saw Dora headed towards me. I shouted a joke about the fact she was going the wrong way and she said they had been trying to call me but my phone was off. I was about out of battery so I was saving what little juice I had for town to find the hostel once I arrived. Anyhoo, she said they found a bar/restaurant but it was about 200 meters off the trail and they were all taking a rest. I did not want to go. 200 meters is actually 400 meters once you go down and back. I just wanted to get to the hostel. I had about a hour left to walk to get there. But I let her talk me into it anyway. When I arrived Stephen, Jakob and Caroline were sitting at a table under a big shade tree in front of a restaurant/hostel and two dogs came running towards us, barking like crazy. The owner of the dogs called them off and said they were friendly. He called them by name “Cluny” (a town in France on the Camino) and Amal. Everyone thinks it’s for George (my celebrity husband) and Amal but it’s not. We walked up to the table and I even made a comment, “I’m not happy about being here. I can’t waste all of these extra steps.” They jovially said, “oh come on, sit down and relax.” So I did. I notice an older couple sitting at another table. They looked totally out of place. They were very distinguished and dressed in nice clothes. Then out of nowhere a bubbly guy pops up and asks what he can get me to drink. I asked for a Radler (shandy) and he says that the premixed are not cold yet but he’ll poor me a beer and lemonade. I said we call that a Summer Beer where I’m from. He got me the Shandy and we all proceeded to chit chat. We found out he is from Milan and the older couple was his parents. His name was Caesar, his 41st birthday was yesterday (June 14) and he bought the restaurant in March of 2020 with the dream of turning it into an Albergue and restaurant. Then Covid hit. He said it’s been an uphill challenge but he finally opened in February of this year. He was so excited talking about his new business and telling us all the work he had done to convert it…and what all the neighbors thought. Ha! His enthusiasm was contagious. He was so kind and cheerful…and charming. He’s Italian, aren’t they all? He brought us some tapas and more beer. Everything was amazing. The food, the drinks, the ambiance. Kind of like a fairytale or a little oasis. He has been a pilgrim many times so he knows what we need and how appreciative we would be. Then he offered to make us dinner. We all looked at each other knowing we should probably get back to walking. It was 5pm by now and we needed to do the “routine.” Check-in, shower, laundry, eat, repack, etc. But his offer sounded too good to pass up. So we agreed and called Hyekyung and Yunri. We told them to grab a taxi and join us. They had already arrived at our hostel for the evening but said they would come back. In the meantime, he started preparing the homemade gnocchi, pasta, pesto, and tomato sauce! He served us some apple pie (made the French way – no top) and then showed us how to get down to the creek to soak our feet while he worked. Dora, Caroline and I went to the creek and played in the water. It was so cold and felt so good on my tired feet and legs. I could have stayed there all day but we heard the taxi pull up with the girls. We made our way back to the restaurant and Caesar let us come into the kitchen to watch him work. He was sharing all the secrets of Italian cooking. Once it was ready, we set the table and had one of the most amazing meals I’ve had on the Camino. It was delicious! After dinner he made some special desserts and froze cappuccinos. The other item he helped us with was our lodging for tomorrow. Our path now intersects with the Frances….and it is BUSY at the moment. We already booked beds in Santiago for Friday and Saturday but we cannot find a place for tomorrow night. I’m slightly nervous but always as a last resort we can sleep in a church. Anyway, I asked Caesar if he had any friends in the area he could call to help us find a place. He called several places and everyone is booked out for tomorrow but he gave us a tip about a hostel that has a policy of holding a few beds back for pilgrims who have walked over 500km. The kicker is, we have to arrive arrive before 1pm. So, basically we are flying on a wing and a prayer with this one. We need some Camino Magic….and we need to get up early and start hiking earlier than we normally do to hopefully get a bed. Fingers crossed. But I have faith…the Camino always provides. Lastly, by the time we were finished it was 8:30ish and it would take about an hour to get to the hostel by walking so he called us a cab (only held 4 people) and then drove three of us in his car to the hostel. What a Saint! His hospitality was INCREDIBLE. Caesar, I think you are reading this on Instagram. Thank you so much for taking care of us this afternoon. You turned a really difficult day for me into an enjoyable experience and one I’ll never forget.
If you are ever on the Camino del Norte and want a good meal and wonderful hospitality, go meet Caesar at the Albergue Restaurante Reste y San Roque. He will take care of you. http://resteysanroque.com/
Sometimes being in the moment and letting it unfold as it should is more important than following the rules and counting every mile or kilometer. I’m excited that we’ve officially gotten Stephen to “cheat”… or it could have been the two beers and the Moscow Mule he drank to loosen the reins. Either way he is officially a cheater and broke his #1 rule…you never cheat on the Camino. He says he is denying this ever happened.
Our taxi driver had his little dog with him. Jakob got to hold him on the ride.
The flies are super annoying now that the heat has kicked up a notch. They follow us as we walk and swarm our faces and backpacks. Ewwww.
Today must have been a day for food. At lunch they served the biggest tortilla I’ve seen so far. It was huge but delicious. Of course Stephen ate half of it even though he said he wasn’t ordering anything because he wasn’t hungry. I’m gonna miss this goofball when it’s over. He always says one thing and does another. It’s quite entertaining.
We officially made it over the mountain pass. Only 39.3km (24.1 miles) to go. All downhill from here. Just two more days to get to Santiago and to some much needed rest. I’m getting excited!
Sobrado dos Monxes – Arzúa – 21.9km
Goodnight and much love from Spain.
