something I wrote

[athena]

Here is something I wrote for a local small paper. I was copying it for a friend, so I'll send a copy to y'all too.

Deanna


It is not yet light. If I could see my watch I would know that it is about 6:00 AM. I have been awakened by the soft rustling of plastic and nylon as my fellow pilgrims begin to load their backpacks for another day on the Camino. There is never a need for an alarm clock, not after your mind learns this familiar sound. I get up as quietly as I can. I have been sleeping in a bunk bed, perhaps on the floor if the bunks were full or if there are only mattresses on the floor. There are men and women sharing the same room, often next to each other. I make an effort not to awaken those who would rather sleep a little longer. I roll up my sleeping bag (which serves as a blanket on the bed) and check around for my belongings. I make a hasty trip to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I am out into the early dawn. It will be around 6:30 now. It is still dark indoors but the sky is lightening as the sun approaches. The air is so fresh and fragrant, so full of the damp!
  smells
 of early morning. There will be no cafes open for breakfast. But I have learned to buy bread, cheese, and fruit the night before. And I am content with instant coffee, cold, to slake my need for caffeine. I begin to walk alone. I have checked the path the night before so that I will know where it leaves town. At least I will not miss the very beginning of the trail!

I do not know what lies ahead. I may find myself in another small town very soon. I may approach an open field, a wheat field or a pasture full of cattle. I may find myself in the woods or beside a small river, beautiful in the morning with the mists rising. I may be on level ground or I may be going up and down hills on slippery rocks. It may be wet or dry. I may come to a large town with its bustle and its history on display in its buildings. Each morning is different. But each morning is magic, with the freshness of a new day and a new adventure ahead.

I will stop for breakfast soon after dawn. I may walk alone throughout the day or I may meet up with another pilgrim. Some faces, most after a few days, will be familiar. Some will be new. We will attempt to communicate in Spanish, French, or English most likely. We may walk together and discuss our journey, our feelings and intentions, our wishes and hopes with a strange openness, born of a shared journey, a time when we are all strangers facing an unknown, beautiful world. We may choose to walk together all day or we may choose to separate after a while. It is acceptable to excuse yourself from company along the Camino; none are offended.

I love to walk alone, to think, to sharpen my awareness of the sights, sounds, smells, colors around me. I love to sing, to think, to let my mind wander over all that I seem to be learning about the world and about myself. Many mornings I am greeted by birds with songs I have never heard before. The cuckoo expresses his opinion. The flowers are so lovely that I must restrain myself from photographing all of them! The smells, the fields, farms, animal smells, the smell of fresh hay, fill me with joy. I hear the wind in the trees, see the wheat waving like water as it bends in the breeze, or I hear the flow of a brook nearby, the lowing of cattle, traffic in the distance, all the sounds of earth.When I come near a highway I wonder about the people in the cars, whether they are tourists or perhaps local people going about their daily jobs.

After 9:00 or 10:00 AM I may pass a cafe and join others there for coffee and, perhaps, a "tortilla patata" or some such treat. I have learned that the body needs to be fed and cared for if it is to continue this journey.

And so the day will continue on...from the cool, fresh morning to the gradually increasing heat of midday, on to siesta time for the people of this land. I may stop for siesta myself. A midday nap is very helpful.

By the time I reach the next Albergue, I will have walked between 22 and 36 kilometers. Others do more, some do less. We each walk at our own pace and we each experience the Camino in a different way. We each came with different motives. We will each find that the Camino will give to us and take from us things which we never expected. None of us will ever forget this experience, nor will we forget those with whom we walked the Way of St. James. It is burned into our hearts.

At about 3:00 PM I will reach the next Albergue and hope there is room for me! The first task is to go to the shower...hot or cold, shared with those of both sexes or not, with a curtain or not...there is no rule here either. I change into my other set of clothes, wash the ones I have worn today, and look for a place to hang them in hopes that they will dry before dark. I am tired, so I nap for an hour or so. Then I may join other pilgrims. We set out looking for a cafe for dinner, or at least a small shop where we can obtain simple food to prepare for ourselves. Again, we share our thoughts, hopes, dreams, discuss what we have seen and enjoyed (or not!) on the Camino. We discuss our feet, share remedies for blisters or for aches and pains. We encourage those who are having a hard time and we laugh with those who had an "up" day. We work to understand each other through the barriers of language. We go back, check our clothes and bring them in when they are dry or almost dry.!
  Some
 will talk quietly. I like to read a bit, as do many others. We share any knowledge we may have of the coming day’s trek. We prepare our supples (food) for the next day and, one by one, we drift off to sleep. In the night some are disturbed by the snores of others. This does not bother me. The random, uncoordinated noise of other pilgrims reminds me of the sound of the sea and I find it to be hypnotic, sometimes amusing. Sometimes one of us will awaken, talking, from a disturbing dream. The sounds of night are part of the Camino... up to the early morning rustling of plastic and nylon as we begin another day.



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