There are some of the most abused feet on the face of the planet walking down this hot and dusty road. One friend had to take his feet back to Madrid for a couple of days of R&R and is now back walking, four or five days behind us. In the light of dawn, there is some serious foot binding taking place in the dormitories. A couple of times I have assumed that we would never see the person again only to have them limp into town three or four days later. Every albergue has a well stocked first aid kit and most are put to good use.
And it has suddenly turned New Mexico hot; cool in the shade but after a couple of hours in the sun, it is hard work. Summer was suddenly turned on.
It is impossible to miss the spiritual nature of this walk. The guidebooks speak of the rich history and transformation. There are fellow travellers who are recovering from stroke and cancer, and the occasional tragedy. We have not set down the road with a spiritual agenda in mind, but it is impossible to miss the context.
A couple of days back in the beautiful little village Castrojeriz we were doing something in the Auberge when a French peregrino come in and gets on the pay phone back to France. He was severely disappointed that here he was, days into this experience and it simply was not working for him; he did not feel transformed and felt he was wasting his time. We did not think anything about it until on our way out of town the next day, walking about 100 meters behind another couple. We had our heads down and looking at a long climb up to the plateau when these two embrace, and the guy walks back to town and she goes on. When he walks by, we realize that it is our payphone friend. Clearly, he is headed home and she is headed for Santiago.
This event opened a discussion on transformation. Neither of us expect the heavens to part and to be handed the revelation of St Paul (or is it St Peter?) and to be called to completely change game plans (the way our French payphone friend has expected). It is more on how you connect the dots. It is assumed that the stars are all in the sky and how you build a constellation depends on how you connect the dots. More possibilities than hard rules, but not transformation.
A great deal of discussion on the nature of religion and how the Church is central to many of these small towns. The infrastructure represents a serious investment made over centuries. Many small villages did not see much change until land reform in the 1960's and then the infrastructure investments when Spain joined the European Union.
People everywhere along the camino seem to reach out and support the hundreds of strangers who walk past their door every day. It would be easy to become cynical and look to exploit those who have enough resources to leave home and spend a month (or more) walking, but we have not seen it. The revenue the camino brings must be very important to some of these little places, but what we really see is the kindness and consideration even when there is no common language. Almost all of the big albuergues have one or more volunteers to help people settle in and find a place to sleep, wash your clothes, even make you a cup of tea.
We've met other walkers who started from Le Puys in France. A woman who walked out her front door in France to make her own way to Le Puy and then walk a month to the Spanish border, and then to start what we are doing. Another guy who walked out of his door in Belgium, and another left Poland last August. There are rumors of a guy who left Beijing 3 years ago but we,ve not actually met him yet. And we have met many others who will come walk for a week every year, taking years to finally complete the entire camino. How easy it would be just to keep on walking.
Wonderful afternoon and evening in Leon yesterday. Walked out of town in the dawn and into the countryside. We will spend the night Chez Tio Pepe in Villar de Mazarife. We have another 2 days in the plains and then climb into the hills of Galecia.
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