“I think I’ve hitched my wagon to a horse with no sense of direction.” – me. May 22, 2022.
Then there were two.
We said goodbye to Kersten & Michael this morning. Stephen cried and I did my best to keep it together. It’s stinks, you meet these amazing people and then they are gone…more than likely never to be seen again except for on social media.
Kersten is one of those amazing people. I loved her energy. Calm and collected. She works in the burn unit at a hospital and I bet she is a superstar under pressure. We didn’t share too many personal details but I think she has experienced quite a lot in her 50 years. There is a deep strength under her bright smile. Michael really came out of his shell. He was so quiet for the first week and by the end he was taking photos, dancing in the street and singing to music. They make a very cute couple and seem to have had a good Camino. I will miss walking, talking and eating with them but I’m grateful for our time together.
Folks, I had high hopes for today’s walk. I set an intention to walk with purpose and make up some ground instead of dilly dallying around. It didn’t really work out that way. The Camino had other ideas in mind. I feel like we are going nowhere fast. Which might be one of the many Camino lessons I’m supposed to learn.
Camino – 6
Em – 4.5
We started at 7:25am (a little late) and as we were walking out the door, Dora texted me to tell me she was at the train station and going to hop aboard as to not have to take the long walk out of the city. She said the train was full of pilgrims doing the same. I should have taken this as a hint. It took us a little over an hour to walk to the edge of Santander this morning. Brutal but I’m glad it’s in the rear view mirror.
Santander (where we slept last night) is a huge city and it’s where the largest bank in Spain was started…it’s also the name of the bank.
The walked started out pretty good. Cloudy and cool. We knew where we were going. We found this awesome little roadside cafe called Peter & Pan. It was similar to a Panera. Their chocolate croissant was a solid 8.5. I haven’t had one in days. I’m trying to cut back and be more responsible about my eating. I’ve already had two men on this Camino tell me I look “a little overweight but will probably lose it by Santiago” and a guy on the Camino last year told me I was “too big.” I’m starting to get a little bit of complex about it. Anyhoo, that’s for another day.
We decided to book our accommodations for tonight while having breakfast as to not worry about arriving in time and not having a bed. Good thing we did. After we got everything set up, we left Peter & Pan, and that’s when the hike started to go wonky but we didn’t know it. When I looked up the place we are staying at on Google maps when I was booking it, it said 14 minutes by car. I knew it would take us around 6 hours to walk it since the Camino doesn’t always follow the highways. Anyway, we start walking and about 30 minutes into it Stephen looks at his app and says, there is a “bypass”. He is now calling “shortcuts,” “bypasses”. Maybe he thinks it sounds more cosmopolitan or something. I don’t know but I do give him crap about it.
He is reading these so he knows my jokes are all in good humor. No negative energy here.
Anyway, I said okay without looking at his app or the map, so I’m just as guilty for our wayward route. We are walking parallel to the highway on a dirt path when all of a sudden he says….well I won’t tell you what he said because it had a lot of naughty words in it but basically he had realized that the “bypass” is actually longer AND we won’t get to ride on the little train over the river. I was heartbroken. I’d been looking forward to this little train crossing since yesterday. But we couldn’t go back. No train in my Camino as of now.
So, his genius plan is to hop a fence and walk alongside a major (4 lane) highway to cross the river. Absolutely not. Hard stop. I was born at night but not last night. After the sixth or seventh time of me saying “no” to this plan, he relented. Now, we have to walk down to the river, along the river back up the other side of the highway, which means we are technically going backwards, to a town that has a bridge to cross this frickin’ river. So by the time we make it to the town with the bridge, our hostel is now 16 minutes away by car. If you don’t think two minutes by car is a big deal for a hiker, think again. It is now, 2pm. The sun is fully out. We had a rainstorm last night so the humidity is kicking up. We stopped at some posh restaurant to grab a drink and some shade because it’s the only thing in the town. They were very kind to us but to say we were underdressed is putting it mildly. Don’t forget it’s Sunday. Best dressed.
After realizing that we are now further away, I tell him we need to kick it in gear. I also called the hostel to let them know we would be later than expected so they don’t give up our beds.
I locked in and took a few minutes to focus. My mental game was struggling. I needed a good mantra to push me otherwise I was going to go take a nap in a field with the cattle. My new mantra would be, “I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.” It’s nothing fancy but it took my mind off of feeling completely defeated.
Next I put on a baseball cap (my face is so burnt even with sunscreen) and put both earbuds in my ears. I mean business! I never do this. I always have one out so I can hear someone speaking or a car passing by…however at this point I was really okay with getting run over. It probably would have been less painful.
I told thunder and lightning (my nickname for my legs) that they couldn’t give up and that we had to push through to our destination. There is no quitting today even though the hike is a disaster.
I should give a backstory…on the other Caminos, I’ve noticed that the first 10-11 days are all about adjusting physically. Overcoming the soreness and the blisters. The next 10-11 days is the mental struggle and the last 10-11 days is the transformation. I was in the mental struggle today. I seriously had to dig deep otherwise I was going to sit roadside and cry…which doesn’t move me across the map. I’m a Sagittarius (half person, half horse) in the Western zodiac and an Earth Horse in the Chinese zodiac…so I’m basically a double horse. Most of the time I like to be the wild horse running free on the beach but when I need to, I can be the Clydesdale. I will not give up for anything if there is a purpose and a goal. I needed to channel my inner Clydesdale today. I did just that, I was like the French people on the hills. Sailing up them and costing down, repeating my mantra as I went. It was good but really hard. We eventually made it to our hostel. It was 5:25pm when we walked through the door. I think that is the latest I’ve ever arrived. We hiked for 10 hours. We did 32km (20 miles) and part of it in the wrong direction. My Garmin clocked 17,000 more steps than my average on this hike. Previously, I’ve hiked more than 32km in a day (we hit 40km one time – 24 miles), but this was different. I had to overcome my mind, which isn’t my strong suit. Camino lesson in there somewhere. Plus, I didn’t lose my cool out loud with Stephen. Point for me! On the inside I was screaming with frustration but I know he didn’t mean to take the wrong path. This type of situation usually messes me up but we were okay in the end. I gave him a hard time about the “detour” for awhile. All in good fun. However, he will tell you that it was the right way and it was still the shortest way. I’ve bought and downloaded the app he is using just to double check. Ha!
Camino – 6
Em – 5.5
Also, the weather was a godsend. It was only hot and sunny for about 2 hours. Otherwise it was cool (sometimes cold) and cloudy. I probably wouldn’t have made it without the cooler weather.
Dinner was a true pilgrim dinner. The closest restaurant is 600 meters backwards. I ain’t going. So I had a can of mackerel and Stephen had a can of sardines and some rice cakes. I’m getting better at eating fish out of the can.
We walked by a funeral today. That’s a first for me on the Camino.
Aquarius is the Gatorade of Spain.
I saw my very first automatic lawn mower. It was like a Roomba.
I didn’t take many photos today but I did stop to talk to all the animals. I call all of them, Babe. I think they appreciate it.
I’m getting stronger on all the hills. My awful trekking poles & I have made peace and even become friends. Time heals everything, doesn’t it.
My pack felt heavier today. I had to replenish my toothpaste and they didn’t have a travel size so I have the big tube. I also needed a small bottle of lotion. I can actually tell a difference in the weight of my pack. It’s like Linus with his blanket.
I got a solid 7 hours of sleep last night. I’ve only been getting 3-4 so this was a godsend.
Dora is carrying a hairdryer in her backpack. I still think she is having the best Camino.
We met a French guy, Constantine who is walking with his dog, Lylou and this sweet thing looked exhausting. I could relate.
Quote of the day: me: “Is this road okay for people to walk on?” Stephen: “No not really.”As I was about lose my left arm from a car’s side mirror.
Highlight: arriving at the hostel after walking for 10 hours. I was so happy to be here.
I am pooped and excited for a good night of rest. Tomorrow is a new day.
Santander – Viveda – 32km with the massive “bypass”
Goodnight and much love from Spain.
