Today is another long walk with little shade just like the past three days. I make good time and arrive at this very small town searching for the Hotel with seven rooms. I hate to say this but there is nothing about this village which can be described as an attraction ... Nothing.
I walk half way through the village and find my accommodation. It's a little Hotel with seven rooms. Owned and operated by a husband and wife team that truly works hard to make sure that you have a memorable stay in an otherwise forgettable village.
There are ten of us for dinner. A group of five from Seattle, three of them are family, the parents and their son who has recently graduated from college. The other two from Seattle, a married couple who are friends of the family. A couple from North Carolina, a guy from New Mexico and a recently retired women from central California and me.
Dinner was good but there isn't much else to say about it. The conversation was mostly about the Camino and seemed to focus on which parts to skip and how to get things shipped ahead. The guy from New Mexico never spoke a word .. Not one. With that I'll just say that at this juncture I may not be posting any blog updates more frequently than once every couple of days. I can't imagine anyone wanting to read this.
I will post when and if something of interest crops up but will of course post the details of the placing of the stones. The fact is that the Camino I'm seeing today is very commercial and since my last walk has become a tourist event not the challenge of the pilgrims of the past.
Packing your bags to be picked up by the Donkey service, shipped to the next piace on the Camino which suits your willingness to push yourself is just a turnoff. I have now figured out why I don't see any of the same people. It's because very few of us are on the same Camino. When I was eating dinner the other night alone and Vickie invited herself to sit with me she shared with me that she left the Camino for three days to take a train to Paris and when she returned she just started back by jumping ahead five days to avoid one segment which was going to be difficult. It's no wonder that I don't see the same people.
On my first Camino I really got to know people very well. We all walked the same segments, suffered the challenges of the snow and more. At the end of each day we would all meet for dinner and celebrate that day's success together. We all shared the same experience and walked the same Camino. I'm not getting any of that now. For most of the people I'm meeting this is just a another morning walk around the neighborhood but when needed you can buy a boccidillo from a neighbor.
Today I left Hermanillos de la Calzada and the Hotel with seven rooms at 8:30 on my way to Mansilla de las Mulas. It's a walk through a completely open space. No towns or villages, nothing. The walk is a distance of just a little more than fifteen miles. I walked alone for ten miles without a break passing just a few other pilgrims because the segment today was without any place to stop until the ten mile point. Was today a day where I saw a lot of pilgrims? No, actually very few. Why? Just to hard and just not as interesting so just skip it and go ahead to Leon? Probably.
The good news is that I continue to be motivated by all of the great people, family and friends who have been so generous in their support for my Walk for Water. That will overshadow any of the other feelings I'm having about this Camino and keep me just putting one foot in front of the other. Only about four hundred and twenty five this and steps to go!
So with that rousing summary I will sign off and most likely post again on Friday or Saturday. Good night and Buen Camino.
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