May 22 Thursday El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino to Villanueva de CampeánShort Trip To Strange Place

May 22 Thursday El Cubo de la Tierra del Vino to Villanueva de Campeán

Short Trip To Strange Place

Last night was cozy. It turns out there were seven Spanish guys on bikes. Three in the room I was in, two in the room next to mine, and two slept on beds the owners set up in the living room. I thought there were more than five in the shower kerfuffle. Then a gal from Holland came late and the owner said they were full. He called the other hostal and they were full too. I asked about the Municipal hostal and he said it has closed. That seems to be happening a lot along this route. Anyway, he had a bunk bed in an outbuilding and she slept there. I asked her this morning if it was comfortable and she said it was fine. We had breakfast together and then we left. The bikers had declined breakfast and left earlier. Wise choice on their part. I paid three euros for cold café and white bread toast. 

Somehow I knew when I woke up, that I was going to walk today. I must have known because I got up and started packing my bag to walk. Before the bikers left the guy in the bed next to me asked if I was tired, did I sleep well, or did he bother me. I said, "No, why?"  He said his friends said he snored. They were both laughing and teasing him. I told him I had slept soundly and didn't hear any snoring. We all wished each other a Buen Camino. 

Well, the choice today was to walk eight and a half miles or twenty miles. Though with my knee the way it is I thought eight was a good choice. Plus there was supposed to be rain and lightning. I'm happy to report there was neither. Just lots of cloud cover and a few sprinkles. It was a blustery day as Pooh would say, cold and windy. A great day for a walk. And a beautiful place to walk in. It did get muddy later on the journey, but it wasn't too bad. On some of the downhills, there were big drop offs in the road and the mud was slippery. I'd go to push myself up or out to jump a crevice and my push foot would slip. I had visions of me doing the splits and being unable to move. 

I didn't see another pilgrim the whole day. In fact, I only saw one other person the whole day, and that was a farmer getting in his tractor. Mr. Burple was tucked in under the rain cover on the pack and slept all day. He did pat me on the back when I accomplished difficult maneuvers. This is easy to do because he rides in my pack which is on my back. Or maybe he was just scratching my back. 

I didn't see anyone in Villanueva either. It was like a ghost town. The Spanish must go to ground when it rains. Both of the hostals were open, but nobody was in either one. I put my stuff in one of them, which turned out to be the private one, which my guide says was owned by the same people who owned the bar. I thought good since neither hostal had a freezer, if I stayed at the one owned by the people who owned the bar, I could probably get ice for my knee. So the lady came by and said she would be back later and asked me what I wanted for dinner. I thought that was weird, but she said she would be back to get me at seven to go to her house for dinner. 

I thought it was strange, but I thought it was just a new experience. I went to look for the "bar" and found it, but it wasn't a bar. It was a temporary setup being run by the Mayor, whom I met today. She told me the owners of the bar had just closed it without any notice. So she was running this temporary thing as a service. There was no food, just café beer, sodas, etc. I asked if there was a tienda nope, no tienda. Luckily I had some cheese, pepperoni, apple and peanut butter in my pack. So I had a café at the Temp Place and went back to the hostal. Mr. Burple and I had a make do lunch. After lunch, I went out to see this huge old abandoned building and to take some pictures. Then I went back to the Temp Place. When I got back to the albergue, it was still empty, it was dark even with the lights on, and it was cold as outside. So I went over to the Municipal and there were two pilgrims there, the place was really light even with the lights off, and they had two heaters. I decided to move there. I called the lady from the other albergue and told her I was moving. I thought she said not to worry about it. But she showed up at the Municipal and demanded I pay for her  albergue. I told I didn't stay there, didn't take a shower there or anything. She insisted I pay her. I told her to call the Police because I wasn't going to pay. 

So I am all comfy in the Municipal and now I think it is time to sleep.  

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. 

May 20 Tuesday - Calzada de Valduncirl On The Road Again

May 20 Tuesday - Calzada de Valduncirl

On The Road Again

Had my alarm set for 7:30 am because there were no other pilgrims in my room to rustle around packing and waking me up. But I woke up at 6:45. So I laid in bed for about five minutes reading the two comments I had received while sleeping. Then I got busy getting ready. I checked out of the hotel and was on the road by 8 am. It felt marvelous! But getting out of Salamanca was a nightmare. They tell you to go straight, but when you're going through twenty rondas, it's hard to keep track of what is straight. But People saw me going the wrong way and they would call out to me and point to the direction I needed to go. 

I had dressed for cold weather because it had rained last night and yesterday had a very chilly wind. I stopped on the outskirts of town to have a grande café and when I used the restroom decided to take off my stretchy pants that I wore under my hiking pants. Then I got on the road again, I mean literally on the road. About a kilometer down the road I suddenly for some strange reason thought about the pants I had taken off. These are what I call my Star Trek pants because they have a silver material on the inside that is supposed to keep you cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold. Couldn't prove it by me, but I'm very fond of them. I bought them on my first Camino at a Chino Bazaar after I lost my yoga pants. Because of my fondness for them, I took off my pack and looked for them. They weren't there! Darn. I'd left my pants in the bar. It's been over thirty years since that had happened. hehehe Well, I didn't debate for long, I turned around and went back and got them. After all, they are my Star Trek pants. 

So I got back on the road again and stayed on the road for about five miles (7.2km) to  Aldeaseca de Armuña. After that pueblo, I was supposed to be walking on a dirt track through fields of sunflowers. Somehow I missed the turn. I'll tell you it's not hard to do. From Salamanca to that pueblo is the most poorly marked part of the Camino so far. Finally, after another 4 miles on the road, I got to Castellanos de Villiquera. From there on it was well marked for the next three miles. 

The day was sunny, but cool, with bunches of clouds on the horizon. The landscape was exquisite. There were wheat fields with the wheat waving in the breezes that rolled over the fields. There were tiny wildflowers in reds, yellows and purples dotting the canvas. Water elements appeared, but at the side of the trail, not in the middle of it and they shone dark blue reflecting the darkening sky. 

I arrived in Calzada de Valdunciel about 12:30 pm along with about five other pilgrims. I had only seen two others while walking, but we all arrived in a bunch. The door to the albergue was open. There was no Hospitalero there, just one other pilgrim. I grabbed a bed and headed for the shower. After that, I washed my clothes, hung them on the line. Then I walked down to the restaurant and ate. They were nice and gave me some ice for my knee. I went back to the albergue, iced my knee and took a nap. 

When I woke up, I needed to find some more ice for my knee. There isn't even a refer raptor in the albergue, never mind a freezer. So, I went exploring. I found the tienda, but they didn't have any frozen vegetables, only fish. I didn't think frozen cod would work too well, it would be more expensive, and I would probably wind up smelling a lot like fish. 

Well, all the beds are full, there are eight beds. No hospitalero.  He did come by to check us in but then left. So three French guys have come in who are going to sleep on the floor. Ok by me, as long as they don't block the path to the bathroom during the night. lol

May 19 Monday Excitement

May 19 Monday

Excitement

I'm eating breakfast and watching the workers take down the temporary structures in the Plaza. Hopefully by this afternoon it will be clear and tonight I will be able to see it in all its splendor. Today I am going to walk by the river where I spent so many hours in the winter of 2012. It was the coldest winter in Europe in a very long time, but I just bundled up and walked. 

I love walking by the river, on the beach, on country trails, on the Camino, and even on city sidewalks. To me there is a form of meditation in the smooth, continual rhythm of each foot hitting the ground, the breath calming in sync with the foot steps, and the mind letting go quieted by the rhythm of the feet and the breath. For me it is a transforming experience. I don't know if this happens to other people. I know my mind disengages, because sometimes it  recognize when it engages. Often I when this happens, I "come to" looking at a beautiful composition for a photograph. I don't know how this happens. People will look at my photos sometimes and comment that I have a "good eye" and the photo is usually one that has been taken when I've "come to" and noticed it. 

This is one of the reasons I call myself a haphazard artist. I don't usually sit down with a plan to sculpt something, make a particular photograph or paint a certain scene or object. I sometimes wish I could do this. But, when I try, I freeze and my mind goes blank. Same happens with writing. I just sit down and spill out my thoughts. Some people enjoy reading them. People have suggested I write a book. My life appears interesting to others, partly due to the time I grew up. Folk music, Elvis, the Beatles, living in the Haight Ashbury, hitchhiking up and down the California coast, etc. I could go on, but then I'd be writing a book and my mind would go blank. 

This inability to plan a work of art drove my graduate committee nuts. They kept asking what I was going to do. I would say I didn't know, but I thought I would start by throwing a thousand bowls. They would look at me quizzically. At some point they asked to see my sketches of what I was going to do and I would look at them quizzically. The bowls evolved into an installation piece. But I'm not really sure how exactly that happened. I can work at improving my skills, but I can't plan the art. It comes in a zen way and walking is a part of that. 

 But I digress. Good heavens how do I get off on these tangents? Anyway, around noon I went to spend some time with the river, just strolling, believe it or not. I walked and walked and took pictures just as I did before. I had some pretty amazing reflections. There was a sad or maybe lonely over tone to my walk on the river. I don't believe I had remembered that a big part of my time here was about aloneness. For a number of reasons, I didn't really fit in with the other students. They were friendly and kind, but I was like their mother or grandmother, yikes. At home I socialize with all ages, but then it wasn't happening. And I didn't speak Spanish well enough to have discussions with the people I lived with, though they were very kind and caring. It wasn't a bad time or feeling. I'm just a people person and I was more or less without people. In some ways it was very good. I got time for introspection and learning. Anyway, today's walk made more aware of the changes in me at the time. 

I'm happy to report that my knee did very well today. It's so weird to walk without pain or limping. Tomorrow the plan is to get up and go wall to the next town. Wish me luck!

May 17 and18 Saturday and Sunday Salamanca Days Running Together

May 17 and18 Saturday and Sunday Salamanca

Days Running Together

This evening the Plaza is going wild. It' Saturday evening in Salamanca. There are kids activities in the Plaza. Young people like fifteen to thirty years old are dressed in costumes and getting ready for tonight's fiesta/party in the Plaza. The musical stuff in Spain usually starts about midnight and goes until five or six in the morning it's crazy!  And tonight Madrid Atletico won the Spanish League Title in a playoff against Barcelona. This part of Spain is very excited about that. This is all about fútbol mind you. It's Spain and fútbol is the name of the game. 

The Plaza was humming. And tonight I will be very glad my room is an interior room. I will be able to sleep. By the way, when I was writing about my room being small I didn't mean it was a dump or terrible. It's just small, cozy; but very comfortable for laying in bed reading mystery novels. 

Those windows you see in the structure surrounding the Plaza are apartments. The ones under the flags are government offices. Two neighbors in the apartments were out on their balconies chatting this evening and I got a picture. It is a lovely evening in Salamanca. There was also a wedding party or reception in the Plaza. The tables were shaped in a horseshoe and covered with white table cloths. It was lovely. 

My knee was feeling better today. I walked to the Crepería, to Smooy, and to the market. There was discomfort, but not pain. I have one more day of total rest, a full day of mostly rest, and a compression knee brace. So I'm looking forward to getting back out on the trail Tuesday for ten or eleven more days. 

I had a good night's sleep. Woke up about eight iced my knee with the peas that I kept in the mini bar. They were cold, not frozen, but cold. I went downstairs for the breakfast buffet. The woman who works there is very nice. Every morning she asks me how my knee is and do I need more ice. She fills up my quart size zip lock bag before I leave. That's lasts in the mini bar until late afternoon, early evening. 

There is a stork in the bell tower across the plaza from where I eat breakfast. This morning I saw its babies. Well, not baby babies. They looked to be adolescent, bigger than babies, but not ready to leave the next. Luckily I had my good camera with me with the zoom and I got some pictures. Then I went out for a stroll to see if any of the supermercados were open where I could get some peas or ice later. Nope. It's Sunday in Spain. But the little Fresh and Go, kind of a mini mart, convenience store of the larger supermercado. They will be open until 23:00, or 11 pm. Good news. 

There is something happening here that I don't understand, to misquote Bob Dylan. As I was walking down one of the main roads from the Plaza on my way to the market, an ambulance with its lights flashing, followed by a blue van, followed by a Red Cross (Cruz-Rojas,) moving slowly like a procession. Well, it's a part of the old town where cars are not allowed, except early in the morning for deliveries, so I'm thinking may this is just protocol when someone is being transported and time is not critical. But then, a military jeep pulls up stops and talks to some soldiers and then the jeep joins the procession. These are soldiers in combat fatigues, not riot gear. They are not Policia Local or Guardia Civil, they are military. I decided, I think wisely, not to take pictures. 

On my way back from my futile store search I noticed a protest of some sort was being organized in the little park and on the street/walkway. I took some pictures, but I couldn't translate the banner. If anyone out there can translate it, let me know. 

I continued on my way and went through the Plaza. I heard the Happy song playing and went over to check it out. There were some people on the stage dancing to the music, in what had to be a well-rehearsed routine and children in the audience who had obviously witnessed the rehearsals, dancing along more or less in sync. There were also children and adults painting with poster paints on this long sheet of butcher paper attached to a wall of one of the temporary buildings housing the Book Fair. It all looked like great fun. I wonder if they will have electronic Kindle Fairs in the future. 

More good news, my didn't hurt this morning. I'm still resting and icing all day today and most of the day tomorrow.  Right now I'm listening to Vince Scully and watching the Dodgers on my IPhone. Amazing. 

May 16 and 17 Friday and Saturday - Salamanca If It Be Your Will

May 16 and 17 Friday and Saturday - Salamanca

If It Be Your Will

Well after being a cranky pants on Thursday, I woke up and went down to the hotel buffet. The buffet. It had lots of yummy things, including cornflakes and my favorite cookies. I also had a view of the Plaza out of the dining room so I took a few pictures. Then I asked the woman working there if she could get me some ice for my knee and she said she would be happy to do that. So I went back to my room and iced my knee. While I was icing it I wrote to Anai and said if she had any spots available anywhere for the first two weeks of June, I would be happy to be a hospitalera. I thought the chances were slim because that is less than two weeks away and certainly they would be all posted by now. So I let it be and waited to hear from her. 

I decided since I was going to lay in bed all day and I have excellent wifi. I would finish sorting my photos. As I was going through the photos to date on the Via Plata, I thought how lovely it had been and how grateful I was to have had the opportunity to do it. I was thinking if I don't get to walk another step, this is enough. Then for some reason, I continued back through my pictures. There were pictures of last years Camino on the Frances, including my time spent as a hospitalera in Bercianos and working in the Pilgrims Office in Santiago as an Amiga. Good memories. Then there were photos of my three months in Salamanca living with a Spanish family and the person I call "Spanish Mom," Torjí. I studied Spanish at a school here. It was a study abroad program with students from Saddleback Community College. The other students were mostly under 21. I like to call it my trip to Spain with "Sixteen Drunken Teenagers." Though they weren't all teenagers, three were even over 21, and they weren't all drunk, at least not all the time. It was a good time and I had lots of pictures of my solitary walks along the river sometimes one of the Bears would accompany me. 

In the Salamanca pictures were also pictures of the trips I took while I was living in Salamanca. My friend Eileen, who was living in London during that same three-month period, and I went to Lisbon, Amsterdam, and Prague. I also spent a weekend with her in London and a few days with old friends on the Southern coast of Spain. Fond memories. 

Then I went through the pictures of the three weeks I spent with my youngest daughter traveling to Morocco (including a hot air balloon trip and a camel ride,) Istanbul, and Barcelona. After that, she went back to the US and I went to SJPP to start my first Camino. 

Then I went through the pictures of the three month trip I took with my youngest daughter in 2009 when we wandered all over Spain until towards the end we went to Barcelona, where I had emergency surgery, and then we went to Paris for ten days, where I was thankful for every day I got to be alive. 

Then there were the photos of the three-month trip when my husband and I wandered around Spain by bus and Caravana, starting in Barcelona, going across the north coast, spending time in Santiago, where I learned about the Camino. Our youngest daughter joined us for two weeks in the Caravana and we saw Seville and Granada. Then she went home and we wandered back to the Southern Coast and hung out. It was an amazing trip. That was followed by a trip to the States and then to Costa Rica for a month in Tamarindo. 

There were photos of my Bicycle Tour of China during the SARS epidemic. It was supposed to be 16 people on bikes, but I was the only one who showed up on China. It was amazing!

Then in my memory was the time I fell in love. I was on another school type tour organized by a very disorganized person in the art department. But before I met up with the "tour" I went to Paris, Madrid and Barcelona. By the time I met up with the tour, I was in love, with Spain! I was already in love with my husband, had been for quite some time, but I had never been in love with a country. I appreciate the one I live in, but I don't think I'm in love with it. 

Anyway, after this, there were pictures of my family and friends from Holidays and other celebrations. 

Well, after this I had to laugh at my silly self. Who could be a cranky pants with memories like that? And then I saw the picture that I had posted of my Camino pin that says, "Turn It Over" and I did. I heard from Anai. She had not one, but two possible hospitalera postings for me for the first two weeks of June. One was in Zamora, about four days walk from here, and one was in Estella, on the Camino Frances, a couple of bus or train rides from here. I told her Zamora. Then I thought about it and I thought that is just what would be easiest for me. It may not be what is needed most. So I wrote again and ask her to tell me which one would be most helpful. She said, Zamora. So that is where I will be with a Spanish man named Jose Luís. She says he is a veteran Hospitalero. Geesh, I hope it's not the guy I ran into earlier on the Via Plata. The one I thought should retire. lol 

My knee is better. I'm going to stay here into Tuesday. So hopefully, I can see the Plaza Mayor in it's pure form without all the clutter, visit my Spanish Mom and drop in on some friends Monday night. Then I'll walk Tuesday and the next nine days until it is time to go to Zamora, or back to Zamora because hopefully I will have passed it walking. : )

Well, that's all for now!

May 15 Salamanca Suspension

May 15 Salamanca 

Suspension

I woke up with a headache. Took Tylenol and I'm hoping it goes away soon and my sense of adventure returns. I made a split moment decision to book myself into the hotel I had already booked for the week end and to leave the Hostal. I'm just not comfortable there. The people are all very nice, but it is not a comfortable place for me to rest. I'm just lying there in my bed while other people are going in and out. It feels weird. Plus there's only one bathroom for two rooms full of people, because the one downstairs is "out of order." At times the whole building is quiet, I'm the only one in the building, and it is spooky. Not scary, but spooky. And there is no freezer or refrigerator in the whole building. I can't use my gel pad on my knee. So each time I need to ice my knee, every two hours, I have to go down the stairs and around the corner to the store and buy frozen peas. 

Anyway, I'm sniveling and feeling sorry for myself. The Hostal offers a breakfast at their Erasmus Cafe, but it's a couple of blocks away. I look at the ticket and it says, "Un Desayuno (café/té y tostada) in my grumpy mood I know that tostada doesn't mean the yummy dish of a baguette size roll, cut it half and cooked on a skillet or grill. It means American white bread cooked in a toaster. I envision Harriett Nelson in her skirt sweater set, pearls, and heels vacuuming and popping toast into the toaster. Oh lord, what have we wrought. You couldn't even buy American white bread in Spain when I first came here. Now it is becoming the standard. Even on the Camino, that's what is offered. I usually choose to skip breakfast rather than eat that. If I were starving and there was nothing else to eat, I would stuff it in my mouth to fill the space and try not to taste it. That would be easy, because it is basically tasteless. Sometimes I think the only good thing the United States has exported is Alcoholics Anonymous.

So I made an executive decision and went to my favorite cafe and had a croissant a la plancha. I'm eating it now and I am happy to report it is yummy. It may even improve my mood. I'm just a little cranky pants this morning. So I'm sitting by the window watching kids and doggies go by. That ought to improve my mood, right? Oh, I forgot to mention there is a SMOOY frozen yogurt place on the Plaza and it's right by my hotel. Yummy. I discovered SMOOY in Santiago last year and had it for lunch or snack almost every day.  

Life is so funny and my God has such a strange sense of humor and timing. This has not been a good day. My knee is not worse, but it is not really better. I checked into the hotel and it is ok, but not nearly as nice as the Hotel Rua. The room is small, even by European standards. Tomorrow I will be changed to another room because I had tacked this one night on after my original reservation. Maybe the one tomorrow will be a little larger. Lord knows it couldn't be smaller unless they leaned the bed up against the walls and harness the guest into it. But it is a bed and a room and it has a shower. Normally, I don't care about the size of the room because I'm never in it. I'm always out wandering. And I love albergues, with my own little space on a bunk bed. Well, mine and Mr Burple's little space. ; ) I guess if I'm just lying around all day it doesn't really matter either. It's not like I need a dance floor or a squash court. 

Then I went to reception to see if I could get some ice. She told me to just go through the connecting door to the bar/cafeteria and ask. I went in and asked for some ice for my knee. I even brought my own little zip lock bag. The gal I asked was really rude. She talked really fast and said something to the effect of this is a business and don't ask again. In all the times in Spain that I have asked for ice for my knee, either as a preventative measure or because it was hurting, I have never, ever had a response like that. Even though this hotel and the bar/cafeteria are actually on the Camino, I don't think they see many pilgrims. Oh well. I tooled my hard earned ice up to the room and iced my knee, then I used it again two hours later. After that I went to the Día and got some frozen peas for my next two or three icings. There isn't a proper refrigerator with a little freezer in this room like there was at the Hotel Rua, so I can't keep the ice or pes frozen for continuous uses. But I may try the bar again when the "Her Royal Rudeness" isn't working. 

After I went to Día, I iced my knee and then walked downstairs to SMOOY, got a frozen yogurt, sat outside on the Plaza, ordered a café, and sat watching all the people on the Plaza. A couple sat next to me. They are traveling through Spain for six weeks in their Caravana (RV.) so we exchanged Caravana stories. John and I also traveled around Spain in a Caravana. It was a hoot. These folks were from Southampton , but had lived in London for many years. From Southampton they just drove 30 minutes from their house to the ferry boat, drove their RV onto the boat, had a cabin that allowed their dog to stay with them, and when the boat docked, they drove into Spain. How convenient. I think it would be a long ferry boat ride for us. 

While I'm chatting I get an email from the woman who assigns hospitalera. She had written me the other day to ask if I wanted to work the last two weeks of June in Salamanca. I wrote back and said I was so sorry that I couldn't do that. I will be volunteering in the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago those two weeks. I thought that was the end of it, but she wrote asking if there was any other two week period I could be a hospitalera. So maybe if my knee doesn't get better, she may have a spot for me the first two weeks of July. Maybe that's what I'm supposed to do. Who knows. I don't seem to have the play book. lol

I was tempted not to post the first part of this when I was rolling around in self pity and being a cranky pants, but I decided those that love me don't care, they love me with all my warts. So there it is with all my warts. 

Whatever will be, will be. Que sera sera.