The magic of the Camino

I left León this morning around 6:30. It took a while to get out of the urban León area. After León, Camino offered split route choices…the (shorter) traditional way which paralleled a highway the entire route, or, an alternative route that was a-little longer, but was rural. I took the alternative. It was a beautiful walk and I was alone the whole 12 mile walk, with a few exceptions. I ended up in the little village of Villar de Mazarife in a wonderful alberque. I met a young woman from Nepal, on her first day of her Camino, a retired Montreal policeman, an architect from The Netherlands and a Frenchman, Jean Marie, who (once he learned that I spoke and understood French) talked to me for 45 minutes about EVERYTHING. He’s invited Cindy and I to visit him when we go to Lyon in the fall. He says that he lives in an old nunnery, with plenty of room. He is a retired Greek and Latin professor. He was a wonderfully nice guy….but could this guy talk!!

About this alberque…Pepe, the owner, ran the alberque for 30 years until he died about 15 days ago. His two daughters, son-in-law and grandson, left their homes, professions and lives in Alacante, on the Mediterranean, south of Valencia, and moved north to keep the alberque running. They had no knowledge on how to run an alberque, or how to cook for 30+ people. They were the most gracious and accommodating hosts, especially given the circumstances that they were here. We had an amazing meal of salad, gazpacho, paella and desert. At dinner, at my end of table, we talked about architecture, tips of the Camino and Jean Marie’s participation in his classical choir group. This makes the Camino experience unparalleled. We probably had a dozen different citizens from countries around the world, laughing and telling stories and sharing experiences. It’s nights like this that we take on the task of walking the miles that we do. My Camino friend Clemens is still back in León, trying to recovery from a bad cold. I miss his companionship. He is (in my opinion) the perfect Camino companion. I hope he can rejoin me on the Camino when he feels better. As for me, my shin splints are still quite sore. Someone recommended that I get compression socks. I’m willing to try anything. I’ll be passing by a mid-sized town tomorrow. I’ll look for a Pharmacy. The internet suggested that I switch from walking to swimming for my exercise. Clearly, that’s not an option available to me now!