something I wrote

[David Hough]

The morning was my favorite part too, though I rarely
got going before 7:30.

After a while I told people I walked in the morning
for pleasure, and in the afternoon for penance!
Especially the day from Santiago to Negreira, where I
didn't get started until 3pm.

--- athena <deannabowlingaYAHOO.COM> wrote:
>
> 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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