Tears of Joy

Itero de la Vega/Boadilla del Camino/Fromista

Sept 19. 16 km

Upon waking this morning I did some back strengthen moves that our local Pahoa chiropractor, Roy Lozano, taught me. That got me to wondering about his practice, his wife and the entire business community in Pahoa. The lava prediction for Pahoa has been moved forward to less than a week from now. That pretty much means the highway will be covered by then. There will certainly be a change in the way we live, on the south side of the lava flow. My mind set is already change, based upon my reflection and walking. In the wake of Pele, it will also be a physical change.

We started out in the dark again, but the days are getting shorter and it's still dark at 7:25 AM. We are again blessed by a morning that delivers no rain. John's Achilles' tendon is still inflamed, and his blisters are still sore. He doubled up on his socks this morning and opted for wearing his sandals, instead of his Keens. While I'm a bit sore each day, John is in misery. We started out with a short 8.2 km walk in mind to the next village Boadilla del Camino. After walking two hours, we stopped for breakfast there and John decided he could go another 8 km to Fromista and an albergue for the night.

Immediately outside of Boadilla, I was walking behind John, watching him struggle down the path. He was framed by trees preparing to change into their autumn finery. I was overtaken with an overwhelming feeling of love for this man, to the point of tears. We are passing through beautiful countryside in this area and today were treated to a stroll down the Canal de Castilla. Our way mixed with a nature trail, filled with birds, grasses, cattails and fields of sunflowers.

Evidently, this is a day meant for tears and emotions of joy and awe. Late morning, with the canal to our right and harvested fields to our left, we noticed a flock of sheep. Near them were the dogs, jumping, playing and generally ignoring their charges. As we got closer, we saw that the shepard was stretched out in the field, resting and playing with the dogs. When we passed, I waved hello and he waved back. That little act of friendship made my heart soar with joy, for the second time today. What a daily thing for this shepard to relax in the field, but such a treat for me to witness.

Near the end of the canal, we came to the locks and the tourist information stand (a regular thing in this historic part of the world). We were directed to the albergue we had selected and headed across the locks and into the town of Fromista. We walked past San Martin Iglesia, consecrated 1066 and San Pedro Iglesia, built in the 14th century. As we neared the albergue Estrella de el Camino, a man in a wheelchair wished us, 'buen Camino'. Again, that overwhelming feeling of humanity and universal acceptance and love overtook me. 

We feel fortunate that we have again avoided a major rain/thunder/lightening storm this afternoon. As we snuggled together in the lower bunk, we watched the albergue's owner surveying the ceiling. This, during a driving rain, is less than comforting. But my prayers were with the pilgrims who were still walking. During our late afternoon glass of wine, we watched as dozens of pilgrims were directed to the overflow albergue. They were dripping wet and hopeful. Back into the rain they went, in search of the overflow spaces. We have been so blessed to be in a dry, comfortable albergue during the afternoon storms. We hope our blessings continue.

We do not go on this journey without connections to the world outside of our little dream walk. We are quite aware of the results of the Scotland vote and discuss them with a young woman from England over wine. We listen to our French friends discuss their government's actions against the Islami State (IS). We pray for the heath workers fighting ebola in Sierra Leone. Closer to our island paradise, we watch lava flow toward Pahoa. But we continue to walk. And pray.

Tomorrow we will attempt 21 km. John has found flaws in the Keens that caused the blisters. Too much glue, right where the blisters formed. He has pulled the glue out and hopes he can get things back in order with the dreaded shoes. There is little opportunity to search for different hiking shoes until Leon, nearly 125 km away. Ditto for me who is discovering that autumn in Spain, at about 2000 ft elevation, is very chilly and needs a fleece shirt. Walk on. Walk on. Walk on. (Isn't there a song about that???)