Monday 5 May 2014

Camino Frances (May 5, 2014) - Day 73 Sahagun to Reliegos

Today was an enjoyable but somewhat tedious walking day of 31 kms over a touch less than 6 hours. Enjoyable...how could it be otherwise...I am in Spain walking the Camino Frances with friends meeting new people on a sunny day.

Tedious...well you will see from the pictures, or lack thereof, nice Senda path straight as an arrow and flat as a pancake...oh and beside a road for almost all of the walk today. We are staying in the Piedras Blanca's II Hostal...in a room for 6...NO BUNKBEDS!!! Two Italian guys have just joined us...two more Canadian lapel pins.

On the Canadian lapel pin front I must have given out 15 or so...three or four shop owners, two couples from Barcelona, guy from São Paulo Brazil, French couple, Vladislav from Moscow, young lady named Ruth from Edmonton Canada...and...I forget. Same reaction every time...Canada is well known by all and the pins are finding good homes.

Yesterday's supper was very good...a Pilgrims meal for 9€...where Paulo treated us to a bottle of wine...in thanks he said for our flexibility with the schedule considering his blistered feet. Hey no problem for us...he is our friend plus we would be lost trying to find places to sleep outside of Municipal Albergues.

Paulo with the wine

Marc with the wine

Guy with the wine

By now you are probably wondering if I am slapping any old picture on my blog just to take up space...no it's just that my pictures from today are just too boring!

Lentil with sausage soup - very good!

Pork and beef meatballs with French Fries...does eating get any better than this?



A few pictures from the day followed by a human interest story with Paulo as the star.



A building! A building! A building!
Not a hot clue what this is
Someone who did not make it!
Breakfast...an empanada with tuna!

A neat fence
A sign - I know this is pathetic!
A field

Another field
A glorious stretch
Creative photography courtesy Marc Arbez

On the foot care side Paulo's blistered feet are doing much better, Marc's pain has subsided however he now has some whopper blisters due to his running shoes and touch wood I am plodding along...feet are sore but otherwise ok.

Now the human interest story...turns out Paulo is an artist similar to Marc and a few years ago had what can only be referred to a Picasso or Rembrandt phase. His paintings were creative and a little different.

A few of them are shown below...they are...my names:

       1) Banana a la Brazil
       2) Disturbed person
       3) Boy and the Ear
       4) Fat Boy in the Garden

I realize that Fat Boy in the Garden may be a little controversial in Canada however this very large painting hangs in Paulo's parent's house...it is very creative.

Banana a la Brazil

Disturbed Person

Boy and the Ear

Fat Boy in the Garden

Now on to tomorrow where we have a 27 km walk to Leon and our special treat! We have being planning this for a week or so. Recognizing that I have been treating myself with this Long Walk this will be an extra special treat...after completing a 35 year career...and having the good fortune to be associated with a superb, all-knowing, all-seeing, indefatigable, generous, inspirational, amiable, strong, highly creative, decisive when required, unflappable under pressure, fair, open-minded, ubiquitous (I think I know what this means), brilliant strategist, firm but fair, highly intelligent, patient, highly photogenic, supportive leader called Stefan K. (Oh and I was present when he had his first hole in one in golf!)

On to tomorrow...life may never be the same.

2 comments:

  1. WAIT! I'm confused, did you guys drink wine? If only you had documented this with a picture...or two...or three!

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    Replies
    1. Good one Jeanne! Wine with every meal but I only taste it of course.

      Je t'aime

      Papa

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