May 20 Wednesday Calzada de Valduciel to El Cubo de la Tierra del VinoWhat a Long Strange Day It Has Been

May 20 Wednesday Calzada de Valduciel to El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino

What a Long Strange Day It Has Been

The three French guys slept on the floor in the albergue and didn't block the way to the bathroom. Two of the guys were together. They came earlier in the day. They were both very tall. The older guy looked like a professor type. The younger one was like a young hip black guy with a jaunty little hat. Nothing like the practical hiking caps and hats the rest of us wear. And even his hiking clothes were in vivid colors. He was cute and had the nicest smile. 

The third guy came later and was older than the other two, like my age. Since coincidently the were all French they began chatting in the common room which is where they were going to sleep on the floor.Then the most recently arrived French guy took off his socks and boots, oh my goodness did his feet stink. Within minutes, the whole smelled like his feet. The rest of us fled the room I did tell him, informationally, that there was hot water in the shower. Apparently, he couldn't smell his own feet. And I guess the other two didn't smell it either because they stayed put while the rest of us were trying to discreetly leave the room while gagging. It was awful

Two German gals asked me if I wanted to go with them to the restaurant. I decided to tag along. We ended up sitting with two guys who were staying in the hostal above the hotel. One of them was German and I guess he's written four books about his various Caminos. The other fellow was Australian and was quite the expert on all things, Camino, leading me to believe he must have walked, at least, ten of them. Later in the conversation we learned this was his first one. ; )

I had some homemade flan and an Aquarios. I didn't want to drink café because it was 8 pm. By the time we got back to the albergue, it was 9 pm and I needed to ice my knee again before I went to bed for the night. All the lights were out and everyone was sleeping. So I had to rustle quietly to ice my knee and get ready for bed. 

The forecast for today was a little rain and winds. It had rained during the night and when I got up it was still raining a little. So I put on my rain jacket and rain pants, got my pack together, and took off. The two German women were taking a bus because they were going to spend a day in Zamora, then a day in Salamanca where they would catch a bus to the airport to go home. They are some of the folks who walk on their vacations from work, so they only have a little time each year. Some of the other folks were talking about taking the bus too. They must have all gone down to the bar for breakfast because no one started walking when I did. The young hip guy was still sleeping and the guy walking with him was drinking coffee. 

I started out. Saw a horse first thing. I was walking on a wide slightly muddy trail and the views were incredible. Them the trail turned right and narrowed significantly. It was two narrow tracks with high plant life on either side so it was hard to use my poles. It was also muddy. Then what was a narrow trail narrowed further, so it was really questionable whether this was a trail at all? My first thought was that I had once again missed a turn or taken a wrong turn. So I stopped and consulted my online guide and indeed this was the "trail." Eventually, it met the highway and turned left and for the rest of the day we walked on this track along the side of the highway. It was so weird because I would look to the left and there would be these amazing landscapes of endless wheat, plowed fields, or trees. I would look to the right and there would be a busy highway with huge trucks and cars whizzing by me. They were close, usually at least 100 feet away. 

There was mud on top of the mud. Last year I walked in the rain on the Frances, but I was in an area that was more slippery rocks than mud. I had never experienced my boots getting heavier and heavier as the mud caked on. And there were water elements. I came to one I just could not circumnavigate. I had to backtrack to find a place where I could climb up on the side of the highway and walk on that until I could find a place I could climb back down to the trail. The mud was slippery and a couple of times I almost lost my balance. I thought, "this is Nancy the Intrepid Explorer and her trusty sidekick Mr. Burple. He said, "Get serious! Sidekick?" Every once in a while, it occurs to me that I am talking to myself or to a stuffed animal. I'm not sure which is more questionable, sanity wise. But oh well. 

Then the winds started! Oh Lordy, 22 mph. Chilly with gusts. Not what I ordered. I'm more a warm breeze kind of gal. There was no way to dress for this. The sun was hitting me on my right side and the chilly wind was hitting me on my left side. I was some sort of schizophrenic body temperature. My right side was saying, "You have too many layers on you are going to roast. My left side was saying, "You should put your rain jacket on to protect you from the wind. " My right side would respond, " are you crazy, she will melt in that thing" and, so it went. It took me a little longer to get to where I was going because the wind was blowing me around. A couple of times it almost knocked me off my feet. It was a cross wind most of the time and I had to walk 45 degrees off straight forward in order to walk forward. From above or behind I must have looked drunk because I kept veering to the right and then stumbling back to center. Winds are even more fun if you already have a balance problem.  I kept thinking about how nice it would be if they were tailwinds and just pushed me along forward. lol

I didn't see a single person all day, except those whizzing by in motor vehicles until the two French guys came by. The older one just flew by me, then the hip guy came by going a bit slower, but passing me. Just as I was entering the town with the two French guys slightly ahead of me, this young woman came toward me carrying a sack full of bread. She stopped and gave me this delicious light flaky confection that had just the right amount of sweetness. She told me all about the different albergues in town and the restaurant which for only eight euros gives you a lot of food. This just perked right up, a cookie and a friendly person. Then as I was closer to town and reading one of the signs for an albergue, this man came up and said he was a Hospitalero at the albergue and he would show it to me. He did. It had a freezer for my gel pack for my knee, a washer, and dryer for my clothes for 2€ to wash and 2€ to dry, sheets and blankies, and a twin bed. It was a deal. Since it was starting to rain again, there was no way to dry clothes on a line. 

I was the first person there so I got my choice of beds in a room with one bunk bed and two single beds. I decided to go eat before taking a shower since I didn't need to hurry to wash my clothes and hang them out to dry. The place is run by a couple. The woman reminds me of a younger version of my Spanish Mom, Torji. Very kind. The husband is very helpful and friendly. The wife put my gel pack in the freezer. I went to the restaurant and got the Menú del Día and had a café. By the time I left the restaurant it was raining again. So I was a little wet when I arrived at the albergue. It was swarming with Spanish men. I think there were six of them bicycle pilgrims. Their stuff was everywhere and they were everywhere. More specifically they were all taking showers and giving owner their laundry to wash and dry. There's only one bathroom so I was glad I had used the bathroom at the restaurant. I guess I was last in line for the showers. They all got cleaned up and went to eat. 

Three of them are in the same room as me. I often find myself as the only woman in a room with men. It is weird. But they all seem nice, if a little noisy. By the way, I've come to believe that Spanish people are hard of hearing, because when they talk on the phone to each other they speak at a volume that leads me to believe the party on the other end of the line ( I guess that is an outdated expression. What is it now, "at the other end of the cell tower?) is deaf. 

My knee is still doing well though I think today was harder on it than yesterday. Tomorrow there is supposed to be rain with thundershowers and lightning. I can deal with the rain, mud, and water elements; but I'm not wild about the idea of lightening. I can stay here and just change albergues. This one is booked for tomorrow. I can take a bus from here to Zamora or I can walk. It will depend on the weather and how I feel about it tomorrow. The weather is better from Friday until the end of the month. So if I take the bus to Zamora, I'll just start walking again on Saturday out of Zamora. 

Time to rest. Night all.