Buenos dias! No agua.

The morning after my long, hot, and Oleg-free afternoon, I was awoken at 5:00 AM by our roommates packing up and leaving. This was unusually early, even for pilgrims.  Then, just a little after 6:00 a hostel worker came in and cheerfully announced, “Buenos dias! No Agua.” Usually late sleepers (such as Simon) were woken around 7:30 because the pilgrim hostels require you to leave by 7:30 or 8:00. So, this wake up call was strangely early and we were not really coherent enough to understand the second part of the message.

Soon enough Marc and I gave up going back to sleep and started getting ready to go. We then discovered for ourselves that we would be unable to use the bathroom, brush our teeth, or fill our water bottles. It was kind of chaotic and none of the pilgrims understood why there was no water. Through it all, Simon slept on. 

Thus, Marc and I set out walking together. We found out then that the whole town had no water. We stopped after 6 k in another village to use a bathroom at a cafe and it was there that we met Hamish. Hamish was a lanky Australian who truly loved to talk. He made the time go quickly for a while, but somehow without even realizing, we lost him and it was just the two of us again. Marc and I were comfortable company. Sometimes talking, but often quiet and just enjoying nature and our own thoughts.

We stopped for the day in a town called Belorado. Unlike many who walked the way, I had no guidebook. However, Marc did have one. He scoured the pages every evening after tearing out what he’d read the previous day. Mostly he used it for getting information about the albergues. In Belorado, he informed me that there was one that was much better than the others. So we waited in line and checked in when it opened.  

It was late afternoon and I was showered and finished with laundry when Simon came through the door. I was relieved he had found us again, but unfortunately our hostel was full. Marc and I walked with him to a different hostel and then we had a drink in the village square. Andreas saw us there and joined our table for a while. We decided to meet a few hours later for dinner as well.

I took a picture of Simon trying to whistle so I could show him what he was doing wrong.

That dinner was one of the highlights of my camino journey. It was so fun talking and laughing together like we’d all known each other for years. I tried to teach Simon to whistle and he made sounds with his finger on the rim of his glass that I couldn’t replicate. It was light, easy fun and I felt a real bond between the four of us.

When I’d left behind my American friends, just day earlier, I wondered if I would meet anyone else I clicked with in the same way. That night, leaving the dinner, I realized how blessed I was to have found another group to fit with so easily. I don’t know that I believe in fate, but somehow the camino has a way of bringing unlikely people together.