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My first Camino: reflecting on my journey so far.
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[QUOTE="LuisaR, post: 1063714, member: 103223"] [B]Day 26: Calzadilla de los Hermanillos to Mansilla de las Mulas, 23.6km[/B] Due to my very generous hosts and my inability to say ‘no’, I was slightly hungover this morning. This wasn’t a great way to be in when it was just me and a long, lonely, hot road ahead with no bar stops for an Aquarius to give me a much needed pick-up. A few days previously, I had posted a question on this forum about the Roman road route that I was taking today, and in the replies had received mixed reviews - some said it was fantastic, another said it was the worst part of their entire Camino! I left when it was still dark, and really hoped that someone who was staying in the municipal might be out and about - it felt like I was heading into the Australian outback alone and I didn’t like it! To top it off, I had lost my 2nd head torch, and I hated using the torch on my phone: it’s not bright enough and couldn’t use my sticks at the same time. After a little bit of loitering, nobody appeared so I took a deep breath, gave myself a talking to and off I went. At first, the road was paved and easy, and I wondered if everyone had got it wrong and todays walk was going to be a breeze, but before long, it turned into the old Roman road with varying sizes of pebbles and stones embedded into the dirt track. You have to continuously try to find the least bumpy part of the road, as walking on the stones is too much for the soles of the feet after a while. I didn’t see a single person for about 3 and a half hours. During the last hour of the walk, I decided to eat my packed breakfast that the owners of the previous nights hotel had made for me. There wasn’t anywhere appropriate to sit and eat, so I ended up at the side of the track in a small dip. It wasn’t particularly comfortable but good to rest my legs, until I looked down and saw an army of giant ants marching towards me and my rucksack: I looked around and I was surrounded, so I ended up finishing my breakfast standing against a Camino pillar - not the most restful and relaxing of food stops! I saw someone walking towards me in the distance and I hoped it wasn’t a crazed axe murderer, as I was very much isolated - I think I’ve watched too many crime documentaries on Netflix, as unsurprisingly, it was a peregrino. Before leaving for the Camino, I was curious as to what I would think about whilst out walking - would I reflect on the past, contemplate the future, or simply be in the moment - and being alone on this Roman road for many hours, I wondered if I’d have any life epiphanies! It’s only since I’ve finished my Camino that I have been able to reflect and realise what I have learnt about myself (more on that in a future post!). One thing that I was very aware of whilst walking is how the Camino is a very condensed version of life’s journey. People come and go, your physical and mental state can change in an instant, the landscape can change so suddenly, and each day was so different : staying in a new village, town and city, eating new food and sleeping in a different bed. It was the daily unknown that I enjoyed so much. I was fearful of it, but also relished it. When I was about 30mins outside of Reliegos, my first stop, my cousin phoned me to see how I was getting on. I was doing fine until then, but found talking on the phone too much of a challenge - I had to stop using one of my sticks which I relied on heavily and had sweat and suncream dripping into my eyes which was really painful! It was one of my most frustrating parts of the whole Camino and I vowed not to take another phone call whilst walking! After 17km I reached Reliegos and was looking forward to a long break with lots of Aquarius, but it was Sunday and there was nothing open. I was mortified! It was another 6km to Mansilla de las Mulas so I ploughed on. I was hot, tired and thirsty - my hydration pack was empty - the last time I had run out of water was on Day 1! When I arrived I ordered an Aquarius, coke and water, and gulped them all down one after the other. I stayed in a small and cheap hotel - I was relieved that I’d booked somewhere as the municipal was closed and people were struggling to find somewhere to sleep. I would have struggled to carry on to the next town. I noticed that the owner had an aerosol can and was spraying it a lot - I wasn’t sure whether it was an air freshener or some kind of anti-Covid spray (does that exist?!), but I found it funny how he sprayed it behind a peregrino’s back as soon as he had finished conversing with them, hoping they wouldn’t notice. I had a really decent pilgrims menu that night in town, and was looking forward to walking into León the following day and meeting up with my Irish friend who I hadn’t seen for a few days. [/QUOTE]
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