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“People will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
We are in an area with almost no Wi-Fi and barely enough cell service to send a text message, so creating this blog and uploading photos is taking far longer than it should. Between that and the fact that today was about as uneventful as they come, tonight’s post is going to be a little shorter than usual.
Sometimes the trail gives you beautiful scenery and epic stories to tell.
Today, it gave us…hot sun and a lot of walking.
If you’ve walked the full Camino de Santiago Francés, you’ll probably remember the Meseta. Long, flat stretches with almost no trees, endless open farmland, and very little shade from the relentless summer sun.
It’s the section that forces you to go within to find your inner strength to keep walking…and honestly, it’s pretty boring.
Today’s hike reminded me a lot of the Meseta.
Long, wide-open landscapes.
Hot sunshine.
A couple of small hills.
But, lucky for us, a section of the trail had a small forest. Hooray for trees that provide shade!
The undisputed highlight of the day was relaxing in the hammock with snacks. Honestly, I could have stayed there all day enjoying the cool breeze and watching the trees sway back and forth.
The day was so monotonous that Massimo even started FaceTiming his friends while we were walking. He’s popular.
“Ciao, Birta!”
We also celebrated another milestone today, our first ice cream in Romania.
Now, before my Italian hiking partner gets offended…It wasn’t even remotely close to Italian gelato. Nothing on the planet even compares.
But after hiking in the heat, it was cold, sweet, and exactly what we needed. Sometimes that’s enough.
Tonight we’re staying with local trail angels who have opened their home to hikers. Although we are still in Romania, they’re actually Hungarian, so we had to switch languages on our Google Translate.
Just another reminder of how diverse this country really is.
Sadly, the woman of the house is currently in the hospital recovering from surgery, so her 72-year-old husband has been taking care of everything on his own.
Cooking dinner. Helping us figure out the washing machine. Making sure we were comfortable.
You could tell it was a lot for him, but he never stopped smiling or trying to help.
During dinner, he became emotional while talking about his wife and how worried he is about her. Then he quietly shared another part of his story.
Ten years ago, he lost his 39-year-old son in a car accident.
It’s a heartbreak that Massimo knows all too well.
Watching the two of them connect was incredibly moving. Despite the language barrier, grief has a language of its own. They understood each other without needing many words.
He pulled out family photographs and told us about the people he loves. His son sadly left behind two children – a daughter and a son who were only 10 years old and 10 months old when he passed. You can tell this man loves them both very much.
More than anything, it seemed like he simply needed someone to listen. Someone to care. Someone to sit with him for a little while.
It’s amazing how often that’s enough. Just to be still in someone’s presence.
Life has a funny way of bringing strangers together at exactly the right moment. Maybe we only needed a place to sleep tonight and maybe he needed a couple of people to share dinner with.
Either way, our paths crossed for a reason and the connection was profound despite the language barrier.
And his soup wasn’t too bad either.
Massimo and I are completely exhausted. We both took naps after showering and doing the laundry and we climbed in bed for the night immediately after dinner.
I don’t know why but the boring days make me more tired than even the hard climbing days.
See you back here tomorrow.
Goodnight.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
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