May 19--Contemplating

I am TOTALLY on board with what the innkeeper said today would be like after having hiked it. Last night he told us that today’s hike was his favorite part of the Camino, and I would agree. It was hard, but it was worth it. Although I like the plains of farmland, I gotta admit, I LOVE hiking through the forest. This is especially funny considering the fact that back in the day when the Camino was like, older, like a couple hundred years ago, the forest was the WORST place to walk because there were robbers and con-men and it wasn’t the bast path to take. But today, the second half of the walk was all forest, and it was beautiful. Let me paint a picture for you (although the pictures will probably do a better job): 

You’re hiking up this giant hill, but it’s cloudy, a little cold and just barely drizzling. Beneath you it’s just the sound of feet against the road and your breath speeding up as the incline gets steeper. On either side of you are these beautiful light green trees with delicate branches. The road is a stark red against the forest floor. Ahead of you, in the distance, you can see members of your group along with other hikers in neon colors. Around you, the forest echeos with bird calls. Even though going up el Monte de Oca was a pretty steep climb, it just felt steady. And for some reason, the downhills were also more pleasant. Usually the downhills on the Camino are PRETTY steep and you are constantly just stopping yourself from sliding down the path, but again, these descents felt very steady. And when I saw another rise in the distance, I didn’t dread it.

As we walked into town, we passed from the forest into a couple hundred acres of farmland. At the far end, I could see this picturesque cow grazing in her pasture, and on either side there were these thick lines of tress where I could barely see the blue sky peaking from behind the swath of dark trunks. It was a little misty and drizzly, the sky was a bright overcast. I don’t know, it was a very contemplative day. All of this might have been augmented by the fact that for a good five miles of the trip, I walked a little bit behind or in front of my usual travel companions to kind of simmer in the silence. I said a prayer out loud, sang to myself, recited the poem I am learning. It was a very contemplative and spiritual walk.

And the town we stayed in tonight – San Juan de Ortega – is such a cute place. It has a population of 20 people – the guy who owns the hotel where we are staying (we bought out every room he has) also owns one of the two bars in town. There is a giant church, a road with some houses and that is about it. It is sad to think that towns like this could die out if young people don’t come in to run these businesses as the population gets older, but it also creates this very friendly and safe environment that is conducive to exploring and getting to know people in the community. 

The church we visited is dedicated to San Juan. At one point, Isabel (la Catolica my GIRL) visited there when she was having trouble getting pregnant, and prayed to the Saint.  She then had her daughter whom she named Juana – in honor of Saint Juan. It was a cool church – the coolest details were in the capitals (the toppers of the columns where the roof begins). There was one that depicted Gabriel and Mary, Mary and Elizabeth, and the Nativity Scene. The cool thing is, that on the summer solstice, there is light that comes through one of the windows and slowly lights up the capital. Because of this, the figures of the side that faces the window don’t look towards each other, but instead to the sun. Another cool thing was this sarcophpgus that was probably made for San Juan, and it has these beautiful carvings on it depicting the death of San Juan, but on the top, there are six intertwined circles, and two have designs carved into them, but the other 4 are empty, like it was unfinished.

Dinner was delicious as ALWAYS! The bread was especially amazing tonight – sometimes it can be kind of dry and brittle, but today’s was super light and fluffy and soft. The main course was a salad, pork and what I think was a blood sausage. I don’t know because they served it warm and crispy, but it was rice and ground meat held together with blood and in the shape of sausages. It is a typical food of the Burgos region and I have to admit, especially served warm, it was VERY tasty. Dinner was hilarious because for some reason, the room where we were had this weird resonant quality where it would amplify this one pitch super well when we sang it. Well, Isaac discovered this VERY quickly after talking and laughing for a few minutes, and basically spoke in a monotone voice the rest of dinner which meant his voice was SUPER amplified. Anyway, at first I found it annoying, but it ended up being hilarious and we basically spent the whole dinner laughing. Which was especially funny, because neither Isaac nor I are super good about laughing with our mouths closed, and one of the other girls sitting at our table is notorious for talking with her mouth open and just having food fly out occasionally. SO at our table of four we were just talking and laughing through the whole meal with food in our mouths like the entire time. 

 

So today was very nice – definitely a different pace than usual, but it was very welcome and enjoyable. A lot of people really didn’t like how cold it felt – with the rain and being overcast and just generally gloomy--but I honestly SO enjoyed it  Tomorrow is our last day of hiking for the week! Wish me luck!