I was a day with out internet so am catching up today.
Monday: I say goodbye to Pierre, he may not be going on unless he receives a cortisone shot for his knee. I am amazed by what he accomplishes at the age of 70!
The walk from Logrono to Naverrett is cool , overcast and peaceful, 13km in only 2 1/2 hours. My body is saying go on, but my feet are saying ¨no¨. The body wins out after lunch ( yogurt and o.j.). This region, La Rioja, is well known for its many vineyards and wine. The walk continues through vineyards and hills, with now city in sight, yet I know my next stopping place is only a few km away. I am following the way markings so I smile to myself, knowing that I will end up exactly where I need to be ( and I do).
Upon leaving Navarrette I ask a woman where the Camino way is ( I see no markings). She expains in much detail the way for me ( in Spanish). There are no words that I recognize, so I just follow what I think are her directions and again am on the right path. I guess I know more Spanish than I think I do!
I arrive in Ventose an hour before the Albergue opens so I begin exploring the town.
Women are walking around with bread and vegetables but I have yet to find the market where they are buying them. ( this is a very small village) The Albergue opens and is absolutely beautiful, recently restored and updated. Yuma ( she runs the Albergue) says there is no market or internet in the village. She has a very small ¨store¨ of items that can be purchased for making your own dinner.
I meet Dietmr, from Austria. He is a very gentle old man, and I sense very wise as well. He tells me I should visit Austria some day, that it is very beautiful. He comments that he only covered 20km today because he is an old man ( I´m not sure what that says about me). He says that we need to respect the limits of our bodies, something I am learning too. He says, ¨sometimes when you see less, you see more¨. i love that ! Something I will carry with me the rest of my journey.
Sally and I invite Johanus, and Elizabeth to join us for dinner. Elizebeth invites, Tina and Ramon, who in turn invite Dietmr. Somehow Tina and Johanus end up cooking a dinner that we have invited them to come to! Not sure how that happened, but we laugh about it. We have a delightful meal with America, Spain, Germany, and Austria represented at the table. Dietmr speaks German, English and Spanish, so he does much of the translation for the three Americans.
At dinner the topic of snoring comes, since we are all sharing a room together. Dietmr explains that pilgrims don´t snore, they only meditate very deeply. We all have a good laugh, knowing there will be some meditating tonight! Lucky for me, I still have the earplugs that Johanus gave me on my second night!
thank to you all for your comments, they are very uplifting!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hello! It is great hearing about your trip. It makes me smile to think about you over there - walking, seeing beautiful places, meeting interesting people, living in the moment, etc.
ReplyDeleteBTW - I was telling Beth Chasco (Kate's aunt) about a friend of mine doing this walk in Spain. She got all excited and said, "That's on my bucket list!" Then I remembered that you know each other and told her it's actually Matt's mom. She was so inspired and more motivated than ever to take the trip. She is a Spanish prof at the U of I, so she was very impressed that you did this without knowing much Spanish. She will want to hear all about it when you get a chance. Maybe we can go out and you can tell us at the same time. I want to see photos!
Martha
Hi Terri, Sounds awesome to be amongst God's creation out there,and his children from all over the world. He is defintely with you, and I now wish to do something like this! What an inspiration you are to us! Tell them that they are truly in the presence of an angel(you!). Harriet and I were reading your blogs, she is going to follow you also. May God be ever present as you journey closer and closer to him everyday. We love you and you are in our prayers. When you get to the mountain top, give a shout out to God for me:o) Love you Sis, (and very proud of you)Judy+++++
ReplyDelete