Our route today was relatively short, only 14.2 miles, and covered similar terrain as to what we've been experiencing the last few days: trekking along dusty dirt or gravel roads with views of wheat fields for miles with little to no shade. We arrived in Belorado @ 2:30 pm and I think the temperature had to be close to 90 degrees. Talk about sweltering! My clothes were sticking to me and all I could think about was a nice warm shower to wash off the dirt and grime and sweat of the road.
But, rather than focusing on the heat or my tired feet or the pain I've started to develop in my back from my backpack, I wanted to share with you a sense of what this amazing journey called the Camino de Santiago is all about. We walked through 5 very small towns today: Grañon, Redecilla, Castiledelgado, Viloria de la Rioja, and Villamayor del Rio. In some of the towns I think we pilgrims outnumbered the locals. In fact, the town of Castildelgado was almost a ghost town. In all of these small towns, we pilgrims are the townspeople's primary source of income. Everywhere along the way, we've been met with courtesy and friendliness, from the morning Buenas dias to the encouraging Buen Caminos we've received. We've even had a few Camino "angels" guide us along the way: when we took a wrong turn or looked puzzled at an intersection as to which way to go, or when we were walking on the wrong side of the road and would have missed the Camino markings. All I can say is, the Spanish people along the Camino, especially in the smaller towns, have been incredibly welcoming and gracious.
The other thing I've noticed is that when we walk into a town looking for a bar/café to rest for a bit and have a cup of coffee, before you even see the bar/café, you hear the laughter and talking in a jumble of languages. It's like everyone is welcoming you to come and sit. We always see people we've met along the way and it's like seeing long lost friends. Maybe it's because we're all sharing this journey together and only those who have walked the Camino share in this brother/sisterhood.
Well, anyway, those are my philosophical thoughts for the day. We're now 24 stages, 25 days and 341 miles from Santiago. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue on.
Buen Camino
Beautiful day for a stroll through the wheat fields
We found more sunflower pilgrims
The Church of Santa Maria in Belorado (see the stork nests on top)
And yet another pilgrim we met along the way (this one wasn't very talkative though)
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