getting the pilgrim groove on

To start (since I seem unable to move them on this particular machine), a few photos:

This is a view of the Camino outside of Ribadisella. Unbelievable!

Some coastal views from the walk to Ribadisella from Llanes.


Sorry this one is sideways -- it is the Church of the Sorrows of the Mud. I am not kidding, either. (And by the way, yesterday we passed many flyers for the fiestas celebrating the "Virgen de la Cabeza." That´s the Virgin of the Head. Honest, I am not making this up!)



Getting into it...

There seems to be some combination of conditioning, weight loss, pack adjustment, and feet toughening that equates to the right energy to keep walking and walking. Finally I have reached that point where the pack is weightless and my legs don´t feel like leaden pegs -- what a difference! And the scenery of the past week has been astonishing. I think the Asturian coast is one of the best kept secrets of the world. We have covered miles and miles of rocky coves, endless beaches without anyone else on them, meadows fillled with flowers and only an occasional village here and there. The rolling countryside is like a combination of Ireland and Switzerland. Suffice to say, I would encourage anyone to include this part of Spain on their itinerary.

Yesterday we took a detour to visit an 8th century church and monastery in the corner of a remote valley. The church still had remnants of the original paintings that were used to decorate the interior. Sitting as it was in the middle of a meadow with a stream running behind, it made quite an impression. Most of the churches are closed and we were lucky to arrive just in time to get admission. Aftr visiting the church, we asked for stamps for our pilgrim credentials and were directed to the monastery door, to ring a bell. A voice asked what we wanted and we were instructed to wait. And wait. Finally a monk appeared in his robes to provide the requested stamp. We were dutifully polite and thankful but the Brother remained silent and expressionless. At the end pf the procdure there was the glimmer of smile and walking back to get our packs I speculated to Laurie that perhaps he had taken a vow of silence. Moments later we heard him ask the lady in the ticket office if his fax had arrived yet.

People see many fewer pilgrims on this route and tend to stare and point (and, I might add, laugh) without reservation. At then end of a long day on asphalt when I am tired and sweaty, it can get to me a bit. Walking into Oviedo today, soggier from rainy drizzle than sweat, and feeling every pound on the pavement, a woman across the road with her rolling market basket stopped and began clapping and smiling for us. It was very touching and amazingly energizing.

Our friends from Germany have all returned home and the few familiar faces are thinning out. We did run into the Belgians again and actually got smiles when I offered food.

A lot of the t shirts here that the locals wear have English phrases on them. It seems sort of odd to pick a shirt that says something you can´t understand. And why do I assume that they are not understood? Consider my favorites:

sponge 52

i am not the bus driver

safari wild prestige 5

surfing flavour

On a final unreflective note, the TV is everywhere in the background (or worse, foreground) in every cafe and restaurant. Usually it is music videos or some inane talk show that makes Jerry Springer look like Charlie Rose. Last night it was the Spanish version of one of those celebrity gossip shows we were ignoring during our dinner when out of the corner of my eye I saw Mick Jagger on teh creen. I pointed this out to Laurie who shrieked with laughter when she read the caption that he was reported to be using bee strings instead of viagra. Just what inquiring pilgrim minds need to know....