The ebb and flow of the Camino often switches up your Pilgrim group. You will walk with one group for a while and then they either fall back or move forward and along comes a new set of fellow travellers. One German fellow calls these our “five minute friends”. Because the travel is difficult and the Albergues are tight you quickly develop an odd sort of intimacy. In real life how many people would say to a virtual stranger, “Can I borrow your scissors to cut the dead skin off of my feet?” (Actually overheard this!)
Our current group is a lot of fun: us, two UK rugby enthusiasts (who give your Dad a hard time re Arsenal), a couple from New Orleans that ooze Southern hospitality, and a single woman walker from Nova Scotia the knows everyone’s name. Last night we stayed in a tiny town with no restaurant and a mid-sized convenience store. Fortunately your Dad had olives, rice, and tomatoes—New Orleans had a giant chocolate bar and roasted peppers—your Uncle had a jar of jam, orange juice and Cola Cao—Rugby knew where to find a corkscrew—and Nova Scotia was easily talked into ice cream from the convenience store. We feasted both dinner and breakfast. After breakfast we began with a step ascent. I thought I was the only one struggling until I reached the top. My five minute friends were there! They were ready for a rest too and had already found a bar serving coffee looking over the valley. So with the local sheep dog at our feet and two chickens and a rooster circling the table we began a challenging day together. We walked up and down (although more down than up) on acorns, chestnuts, and cow poop. Sweet chestnuts are abundant in Galacia. Although the magostas (chestnut roasting festivals) aren’t until November they are already tumbling from the trees. Many times today what we thought were falling leaves turned out to be a narrow miss with a chestnut dropping to the path. Loving the bit cooler temperatures. You are Always in My Prayers. Love Mom.
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Ray & Diane HomewoodSharing the Blessing of Travel Archives
January 2018
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