Sunday, June 5, 2011

Day 6 Feeling good, feeling tired

Buenas Dias Amigos!  Que tal?  Estoy muy buen!!  LOL!  I´m feeling a lot more comfortable with my spanish in only one week.  I find myself running words thru my mind quite a bit as I am walking.  Today, my mom sent me into a restaurant to order dinner while she reserved a table outside.  After she sat down, she realized that maybe she should have been the one to place the order.  Not necessary!!  I was able to order to plates of spaghetti, a hot chocolate and a glass of wine--and ask them to bring it outside :)  It´s amazing how little English I hear in a day.  If it´s not Spanish then it is French.  I am also enjoying all of the different accents.  Over the last couple of days, I have tried to record a few conversations.

Yesterday, was the 24th Wedding anniversary for me and Carlos.  I think this makes 3 years in a row that we have been apart on our anniversary.  We tell people that´s why we´ve been together for so long! LOL  I was able to call him and spend about 20 minutes talking.  I miss him and the kids.  I wish they could be here to experience this with me :(  Carlos said that one day we will come back together.  Carlos did get to celebrate our anniversary--my dad took him out to dinner! LOL  Thanks Dad!

I did not write over the last couple of days for two reasons.  First, I was just too dang tired on day 4 and there was no computer on Day 5.  I decided today that I may have to limit my computer time as it is getting very expensive.  It costs me 2 Euros for 40 minutes.  If I use the computer everyday, that would be 14 Euros a week, which is about $20.  Over 6 weeks, this is $120!! Aye, ye, ye!

We are still feeling great!  We have been making good time and getting into town each day about 2 or 3pm.  This gives us plenty of time to handwash our clothes and hang them out to dry.  We shower and take a nap for about 3 hours.  Then it´s time for dinner at 7:30 and off to bed.  We have been trying to get up and out the door by 6:30am each day.

We arrived in Los Arcos today and have covered approx 137 km or 85 miles!!  All of the maps take into account the acsending trails (which are very steep) and will add to the distance.  So it may be closer to 90 or 95 miles.

Here are todays HIGHLIGHTS:

  • We were almost hit by a biker!  He was coming down the hill at amazing speed and seemed to be out of control as he skid towards us.  I didn´t know what else to do except grab a tree! LOL  Fortunately, he missed us.
  • If that wasn´t funny enough...We were walking along and a car was coming towards us.  We have learned that it is safer to turn facing the road.  This eliminates any possibility of your backpack being hit by a side mirror.   So as the car approached (closely and quickly) I turned to face the road.  As I did so, I took a step backward hoping to get further from the road.  What I didn´t know was that there was a DEEP ditch behind me hiding in all of the overgrowth along the road.  I went sliding down, but fortunately was able to hang onto the tall grass before sliding all the way to the bottom.  My mom ran towards me and I was laughing histerically!  She was trying desperately to pull me up and all I kept saying was, ¨Take my picture, Take my picture!¨  She wasn´t interested in looking for her camera at that moment.  She finally pulled me and my heavy pack back out onto the road.  And then we both were laughing so hard, we could have pee´d our pants!  Luckily we had just visted the water closet (bathroom) in the last town :)
  • We had incredible weather  today!!  It was completely cloudy for about 90% of our hike.  This could have been unbearable as there were very few trees along the trail.
  • I did some more house cleaning and dumped even more items from my backpack.  I squeezed out half of my moisturizer and half of my toothpaste.  I also trashed several odds and ends.  I hope it helps with the weight of my pack.
My mind is starting to clear and I am able to focus on everything around me.  I realized today that I am no longer thinking about work or church assignments.  However, I am constantly thinking of Carlos and the kids.

We heard today that Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez have produced a movie about the Camino.  Everyone here is talking about it.  Apparently, Martin Sheen had another son who tried the Camino.  He lost his life on the Pyraneese mountains (the ones we covered the first day).  The story is that Martin & Emilio came to Spain to collect his body.  They had him cremated and then carried his ashes on the Camino to Santiago.  I have been told there is a trailer on Youtube, but I haven´t found it.  The name of the movie is called The Way.

Okay, that´s it for now.  It´s almost time for bed.  We´ve got a long hike tomorrow--almost 30 km (18miles)!

1 comment:

  1. You think your moisturizer and toothepaste will make your pack lighter? Haha. I am thinking not. Let me know how that worked out. I was so excited when I saw your post. I have been reading them to Mike ;). Love you two.

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