Cate's update - Saturday 7th May

Now I am here, the experience is a good as I hoped. We again have been blessed with beautiful weather, so needing the factor 50 not waterproofs. Why did I stress??! The rural villages of northern Spain feel a million miles from the rest of the world.

Nodge has a little toe blister, just as he suffered last time. It got worse today with the extensive downhill walking, so I had to deal with his less than beautiful feet. “Nobody said love is going to be easy” ( a regular comment by our best man in the early part of our marriage, not recently though!!??)

Nodge covers all the geography and photography, but it is the people and thoughts that make the Camino. 

The cuckoo (already mentioned in the blog) reminds me of my late mother, she always got excited every year when she heard the first cuckoo in spring. A bird song I don’t remember hearing since leaving home in 1984. On our first Camino, the cuckoo call triggered many thoughts of her; the many questions I wished I could have asked, the memory of her love and never ending support. It was a joy to hear it again on this Camino, every time I hear cuckoo we comment and recall a memory.

We often walk and chat but also walk side by side or one behind the other in silence, enjoying our own thoughts. I have been focusing on only breathing through my nose, even when walking up hill. It is so much more difficult than you think, and takes a lot of concentration and regulation.

Yes, we do irritate each other. I should be used to him not taking my advice, like stretching his muscles after walking, especially his stiff back. But no, the blog is more important, or football (he is at Ponferrada vs Burgos as I write this).  He has now just got back with another blister!!  My mums great quote ’ you won’t change your man but he will mellow time’. I still live in hope !!

We had a great pilgrims meal last night, to my right two tiny Irish ladies in their late 60’s or early 70’s, they were a hoot. One had done most of the Camino in sections, the other, it was her first experience. I imagine their neighbours in County Carlow think they are crazy!! On my left very friendly German gentlemen, brothers in law; their wives sisters. Apparently both very happy for them be go off for 6 weeks or more! Brexit and Ukraine were discussed.  They were not Merkel supporters. I would have liked to have found out more. We need to improve our nick naming as we often meet the same people many times over the days.

After dinner we walked into the village, sadly the church was closed, but thankfully we found a cross ( see photos) with the sun setting behind. It was was magical. People around us getting increasingly excited by their photos. A truly spiritual scene.






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