Day 14 & 15, Santillana to Comillas; Comillas to Unquera
”Our strength grows out of our weaknesses.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today seems to be the day everything catches up with me. I have had a pretty easy go at the Camino so far. No major blisters, or injuries. It has been hard, but I’ve been getting stronger. In fact yesterday I was singing “We’re Off To See The Wizard” and even skipping for a minute (as much as I can skip with a 20+ lb pack on my back).
Whenever I tell someone I’m from Kansas, the Wizard of Oz seems to come up. I get serenaded a lot. Also my name seems to be a very foreign sounding name to everyone, but a few will sing My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean. I’m always surprised people know that song.
Yesterday I finally got tired of people not actually knowing the words to the Wizard of Oz, so I helped them all along and before you know it, we had our arms linked and were skipping off to see the wizard.
We were having fun, but I began to slow down and told everyone to go on without me in the afternoon. I arrived in town not too far behind, limping with a bit of what I think is shin splints on my right leg. It wasn’t a big deal and we had a fun afternoon in the sun watching a wedding at the cathedral in town while we enjoyed our cervezas.
But this morning my leg was a bit worse. Archie pointed out that I’m all bruised, I’m not sure how that happened (maybe the bread diet is making me susceptible)? But my right leg is red, and a little swollen. This morning I told everyone I would walk on my own because I needed to go slow. By noon I was making deals with myself that the next cafe I came to I’d have them help me call a cab. The problem was it was Sunday and very few cafes were open. I did stop at a couple, but after a little rest I’d think, okay the next town. I limped into Unquera (the town before the staged stop at Colombres) and got a hotel room. My leg is really hurting, I think I’ll keep tomorrow’s walk under 15k.
The thing about the Camino is you really don’t have anything to do if you stay put, especially in the area I’m in right now, just small town after small town. So I’ll keep going, just slow and steady and short distances for the time being. The Farmacias were closed today too, but I’ll wait until they are open tomorrow and have them take a look and see if I can’t find some kind of ointment to ease the pain a bit.
I have become used to spending the majority of my walks with people so today it felt different being alone the entire day. But that can be good, I pay more attention to the smells like fresh laundry, eucalyptus, roses, smoke from fireplaces on a chilly morning. Then there are the tastes: sweet nectarines, chocolate croissants, fresh seafood, café con leche.
I also was thinking about a rather deep conversation I had yesterday and what it brought up for me.
But then my leg would interrupt and take my attention again. It was a very slow day. But I keep thinking of a young girl who is on the walk too, she has terrible blisters but she keeps smiling and says there is no reason to complain, certainly no one is making her do this.
Same. Same, no one is making me do this and if it gets to be too much I can always stop. But as time goes on I have a stronger desire to finish.
Richard was saying that the first third of the Camino is physical, the second third is mental and the last is spiritual. So even though my leg feels like a physical thing, the challenge to overcome it might be more mental.
There is also the mental part to let go of the people I’ve met and hang back at my slower pace. It’s hard somehow, but then again I’ve already said goodbye to Claude (he had a leg injury before Santander), a couple of women in our group went home after one slipped in the mud only a few days in and broke her arm. Apparently she tried to walk on for two days! Ingaborg (that’s Ana…, lol, I finally got her name right) and Astrid/Thomas and Jan all are heading home because they only had a couple of weeks off work to walk.
My point is, there are hellos and goodbyes all along the Camino and learning to let go is certainly one of the lessons.
Buen Camino
XOXO,
Bon