Pilgrims Day

Hola!!!

It is Saturday Night here in Santa Domingo.  I have been enjoying the Rioja (pronounced Rioka) wines and this may not be the best time to write a blog :-)

I want to tell you how difficult it is to be a pilgrim.  Oh, all the planning that goes into my day!  It drives me crazy. .. hehe. . . nothing could be further from the truth.  Life is so amazingly simple.  I only have to decide how far I need to go the next day, make sure I have breakfast and lunch in my pack, enough water to take me through the day. . and voila!!!  I am all set to go. . .

This is basically how it works. .. .

I will start the day before. . . I walk as far as I can - which in my case is 22km max!!  By then I am ready to fall down dead. . . I find an auberge. . . . this immediately makes me come back to life again because I can now stop walking. . . then 1st priority is a shower. . . . oh how heavenly water can be on a tired body.  Sometimes if it is allowed I also do my washing in the shower. . . (ek trap dit skoon hehehe).  If I can do it in the shower then 2nd priority has been taken care off.  Then I sort out my bed - do the bedbug spray thing. . although I have not met any of those pesky little creatures yet. . . . and then if there is anything left. . . I go and explore the town.

So, basically, at 5:30 in the mornings I get up. .. start walking soon after 6 and then walk until about hmmm. .. anything from 12:00 to 14:00 depending on the terrain and also how many ups and downs I encountered.  The reason I start so early is firstly because of the incredibe heat, but that seems to be cooling down and then secondly to make sure you get a bed for the night.  The one thing I have to say. . .I have yet to walk a flat road or terrain. .. all of it is up little hills and down little valleys. . I am sure this road was designed to make it as hard as possible.  Many times I cross the same road that goes fairly flat but here I am, struggling up the hill and sliding down the hill. . .

You have to make sure that you time your walking so that you get to an auberge - preferably not later than 14:00 otherwise you might find it COMPLETO (which translates to full). .. this is a scary word for a weary pilgrim. . .if there is no other auberge in the town, it means walking to the next town. . . .well, for me, it basically means falling apart. . .

And that is that, my whole day planned from beginning to end . . . .

I will leave you with hug and a kiss and go and sort my backpack ready to go tomorrow morning.

P.S.  I have not been able to upload any photos. . .will make a plan. .. otherwise you will just have to buy the book. ..

Much love!!

Willemien