It’s strange how even life as transient as on the camino can become routine. I spent the next few days walking with Marc and/or Simon through tiny Spanish villages that started to blend together. We often commented on how so many of these villages seemed inhabited by ghosts. This was probably an effect of the poor economy which drove people from their homes in search of jobs. Many of the villages seemed to continue existing only because of the thousands of pilgrims who walked through them each year. In one especially quiet village that we walked through, the only living being I saw was a baby left outside alone in a stroller.
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| This was the only donkey I saw on the camino |
For a few days the three of us consistently walked more than 30 kilometers. So, we were happy to do an 18 kilometer, relatively easy day and stay in the town of Sahagun. To my joy and surprise I recognized the friendly faces of Ha and Kim while strolling in the village square. We greeted each other ecstatically and they told me how worried they had been about me since leaving me on my birthday.
Until I saw them I didn’t realize how much I had missed the company of women. Marc and Simon were wonderful friends, but there’s nothing quite like girl friends to talk and laugh with. I was excited to have all four of these great friends at dinner together that night. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to click with each other the way I hoped.
Marc and Simon mostly spoke to each in German and Ha and Kim chatted with me about South Korea. I ordered my first Spanish paella and it was a disappointment swimming in grease. Thankfully, Ha insisted she had too much pizza and offered me some.
After dinner we got a few drinks at a nearby bar and our group seemed to mesh better. It was great to have some women to tell me that I definitely needed a haircut, which I had suspected. They also agreed with me that my calf muscles had grown hugely in the last few weeks.
That night I had trouble sleeping and talked to Kyle a bit on my tablet. It was strange how long ago it felt that I’d walked with my quirky American friend. It had been really hard to talk to Martin with our time and schedule differences, so I had agreed to get online from 3:00-4:00 AM to talk to him through instant messenger.
I woke up at 3:00 and didn’t find an email from him. I wrote him over messenger and told him how I love him and miss him and how I’m excited to talk to him. A few minutes later he responded with, “I’m outside. I love you. Good sleep.” I was really crushed and discouraged about our relationship. It felt like a long time before I slept again.
