June 9: Arzua to Arca O Pino @ 12 miles
I stop for a morning break and meet three women from England, who also stayed at Casa Domingo the night before. Comparing stories I learn they walked with the Ireland-Connecticut duo the past few days.
While I snap photos of the abundant pink-wild foxglove they take photos of a plant they had not seen outside of England, or at least not one on this tall. They told me the name. I forgot so instead I took a photo instead.
I stop for a morning break and meet three women from England, who also stayed at Casa Domingo the night before. Comparing stories I learn they walked with the Ireland-Connecticut duo the past few days.
While I snap photos of the abundant pink-wild foxglove they take photos of a plant they had not seen outside of England, or at least not one on this tall. They told me the name. I forgot so instead I took a photo instead.
At 9 a.m. we hear repeated booming from a distance. To me it sounds like dynamite. To them it sounds like thunder. We search the skies. The noise continues all morning. We stop to get a sello stamped for our credencial at Casa Verde. Pop music is playing. A monitor on the wall shows the next ten songs on the line up. Fellow pilgrims I'm walking with that morning are dedicated to British rock music they want to wait until a Rod Stewart song comes up. I drink my tea, excuse myself and am on my way alone again. They are fast walkers so I know they will pass me by. I don’t see them again until Santiago.
Just before 2 p.m. I join the lineup at Albergue Xunta, which looks like a municipal hostel and the guide books indicate it was built for this purpose with 120 beds.
By pure luck of the draw I am assigned one of the few beds envied by other pilgrims. It's tucked into a corner with no bunk above. I can sit up in bed to read, write or pack. There's even an individual storage locker next to my bed for the backpack. And a window and ledge for stashing essentials. Thank you, Lord. I am grateful for small things in life. I would have liked a hot shower. But by time I got in the shower at 3-4 p.m. all the hot water was used up.
Laundry then time for a nap. There is a nice kitchen so I decide to go out and look for something to cook. By now it’s raining cats and dogs. I go back to reading. Later I go out again. The tienda is closed until 6:30. I walk until I see a café that appeals to me. No large pilgrim’s meal for me tonight. Too much food. I poke my head in the door. “Wee-Fee?” I ask.
I order a glass of wine and peruse the menu. Mostly pizza. Randy would be happy here. Thora, a young doctor from Iceland sees me at the corner table by the window. She comes in and joins me. I met her on the road yesterday. We continue our conversation. She has studied at Baltimore and now has a fellowship to work in Texas doing breast cancer research. She is thinking of changing fields to Radiology.
By pure luck of the draw I am assigned one of the few beds envied by other pilgrims. It's tucked into a corner with no bunk above. I can sit up in bed to read, write or pack. There's even an individual storage locker next to my bed for the backpack. And a window and ledge for stashing essentials. Thank you, Lord. I am grateful for small things in life. I would have liked a hot shower. But by time I got in the shower at 3-4 p.m. all the hot water was used up.
Laundry then time for a nap. There is a nice kitchen so I decide to go out and look for something to cook. By now it’s raining cats and dogs. I go back to reading. Later I go out again. The tienda is closed until 6:30. I walk until I see a café that appeals to me. No large pilgrim’s meal for me tonight. Too much food. I poke my head in the door. “Wee-Fee?” I ask.
I order a glass of wine and peruse the menu. Mostly pizza. Randy would be happy here. Thora, a young doctor from Iceland sees me at the corner table by the window. She comes in and joins me. I met her on the road yesterday. We continue our conversation. She has studied at Baltimore and now has a fellowship to work in Texas doing breast cancer research. She is thinking of changing fields to Radiology.
Gulas is not a dialect heard in Porgy & Bess........that's Gullah
Thora orders cheese pizza. I know the Spanish word for shrimp. Gambas. That’s what I’ll have. Gambas y gulas. Gulas I figure is a type of sauce. When it arrives I wonder what those white worm-looking threads are snaking throughout the pizza? It tastes fishy. Shrimp doesn’t taste fishy. I’m not crazy about it, but I keep eating and talking with Thora.
Two other women come in and sit at an adjoining table. One thinks my pizza looks good. She orders the same thing. Once it arrives she doesn’t like the way it looks.
Me? I keep eating. Randy is texting and I ask him to Google ‘gulas.’ He writes back, “baby eels.”
By now I’ve finished half the pizza. I push it aside. I’m full anyway. The woman at the other table won’t touch it. She’s squeamish. Not even a bite. She orders something else.
Thora orders cheese pizza. I know the Spanish word for shrimp. Gambas. That’s what I’ll have. Gambas y gulas. Gulas I figure is a type of sauce. When it arrives I wonder what those white worm-looking threads are snaking throughout the pizza? It tastes fishy. Shrimp doesn’t taste fishy. I’m not crazy about it, but I keep eating and talking with Thora.
Two other women come in and sit at an adjoining table. One thinks my pizza looks good. She orders the same thing. Once it arrives she doesn’t like the way it looks.
Me? I keep eating. Randy is texting and I ask him to Google ‘gulas.’ He writes back, “baby eels.”
By now I’ve finished half the pizza. I push it aside. I’m full anyway. The woman at the other table won’t touch it. She’s squeamish. Not even a bite. She orders something else.
My husband has been following my journey. I text him my location. He writes back, “I see there are large crowds gathered in town. What’s going on?”
From where I am I don’t see large crowds. But later that night – and all through the night – I heard fireworks or a sound like cannons – going off every five seconds. This is a continuation of the booming we heard earlier that morning. Not to mention the partying. Right outside the window that I previously coveted so much.
From where I am I don’t see large crowds. But later that night – and all through the night – I heard fireworks or a sound like cannons – going off every five seconds. This is a continuation of the booming we heard earlier that morning. Not to mention the partying. Right outside the window that I previously coveted so much.