Day 17: Castrojeriz to Fromista (25 km/15.5mi)

April 9, 2017

Today was a longer day, not terrible though. We started with a pretty steep hill but it wasn’t long and then the rest of the day was mostly flat. The terrain of the hikes is getting much easier BUT we are in the desert so it’s not a scenic and very hot. I am again so grateful to have that umbrella.

I talked to myself again today. Kept asking myself why I am so scared to be by myself, Logically everything is okay and the anxiety is simply an inability to accept being out of control.

Why is it so hard to let go? To let go and “let God” if you will? To me, being out of control means being powerless. It means I am weak. But if I pause and I really think about it, being able to let go takes a lot of strength. It means realizing you are exactly where you need to be even if that place isn’t quite where you want to be. For me I am SO happy being here on the Camino I just wish everyone I love was with me too. But they aren’t. It’s not to say it’s impossible; of course it is physically possible for them to be here. It’s not like they are in prison LOL. But the fact is that it is not happening, they aren’t here. I need to accept that reality. I need to not only accept it but appreciate it. Now, how to program my brain to connect this realization to feeling it. That my friends is where my struggle is!

I was a bit bummed because the two lovely people I met yesterday, Mate and Lucy, were not at my albergue. There are a couple other albergues in this town and they are likely at one of those. I truly enjoyed their company. BUT because they weren’t here it opened up room for others to come into my life. And they are: Kate from England, Kirsten from Germany, and then 3 gentleman from Italy: Michelangelo, Andrea, and Ricardo.

They are a HOOT, even after they hiked 37 km today. Blew my mind. They have been hiking that kind of distance all the time, as they have to be back home soon. Kate invited me to join their dinner and I gladly accepted. We had a delicious meal full of laughter. I actually learned that in most restaurants in Europe they carry this spray to get oil out of clothes. Having worked in restaurants my whole life, I had never heard of this! I had spilt oil on my town shirt, aka my only normal looking shirt, so I was franticly trying to get it out when Andrea asked the waiter for this magic spray. It got the oil out perfectly!! Was so happy.

We walked back to the albergue and I was doing some stretching when Andrea offered a calf massage with his special essential oil! It was a nice treat since I no longer have my dear Camino family member, Stephanie, to do her foot massages! She is almost home, miss her so much! 😩

I have also been able to keep in touch with my other Camino family members Michel and Sebastian. It feels like I am with them even being a day behind. 😊

I switched rooms because I was again with the “snoring crew” as I would call them! Amazingly enough I can still hear the snoring through the walls! Ha!

Now time for rest. We have an easy 19 km hike tomorrow. Going to start our day earlier because it’s getting so hot during the day. I’ll be hiking with my new Camino family. So excited!

Cheers!

Pictures are out of order! Sorry!