Waching daily Feb 28 2018

Another day on the way.

The first day now since I am among other pilgrims,

the first day without Uwelius as he calls himself now.

Almost the same thing has happend in Santo Domingo de la Calzada as it already did one year ago,

I haven't spoken to anyone else.

The albergue is too big, I guess,

a little bit anonymous.

I leave La Rioja and enter Castile and Leon.

Without Uwe's company it seems that it is another completely different camino once again.

Many groups have already been formed,

and there are also many people or even couples who have started the journey together.

So far I have spoken almost only in English,

there are very few Spanish pilgrims this year,

but very many Italians, Americans and Canadians.

During today's stage I follow the track of my last camino.

I arrive too early at Belorado for lunch

so I only drink a cocoa and keep walking after having entered the church.

At the albergue of Villafranca-Montes de Oca, the bedroom

where Isa and I spent the night is almost full.

During dinner I have a very interesting conversation with a young French couple,

the parents of the little Eleonore who is only one year old.

They are doing the camino by bike and in parts, one week each year.

The night is terrible.

Opposite my bed is a French woman who goes to the bathroom every one and a half hour.

With her lamp she illuminates each face to check out if the others are still sleeping or not.

I call her Madame Lightshow.

But even worse than her is a pilgrim next to the door.

He does not snore, absolutely not.

Nevertheless he breathes with a noise of agony and in a frequency that is so high

that this sound penetrates my earplugs without any problem.

I get up very early because I cannot sleep anymore.

For the first time I leave the albergue in the dark,

but I am not in the mood to wait any longer.

I know it is dangerous because one cannot see where one is going.

Good thing is that it is almost full moon.

The first time I made this stage in the company of two pilgrim friends,

the second time in the company of one pilgrim friend,

and this time I am alone.

Someone tries to overtake me, and we play a little bit.

Finally he disappears, probably he is taking a break.

My plan is not to continue to Burgos this time.

In the end I stay at an albergue in Cardeñuela-Riopico, I'm even the first one.

Shortly afterwards, a pilgrim from Lithuania arrives,

the first person from this small Baltic country that I get to know.

Agnieszka is a very nice person,

but also very laconic, like a character in a film by Aki Kaurismäki.

She asks the hospitalero to explain her how the high-tech shower taps work.

The poor guy ends up completely wet and we burst out laughing.

Later on, other pilgrims arrive.

This morning I'm in the company of a Danish pilgrim again, Bent.

Probably I will not see him again.

He has to get to León in five days because someone will wait for him there.

I will need more time.

Today I just want to walk the 12 kilometres to Burgos and stay there

to see the processions since it is Good Friday.

I arrive very early at Burgos, I speak with two Spanish pilgrims in a cafe

in front of the pilgrim albergue, but then I decide to keep walking when Mister Agony plants himself

in front of the closed door of the albergue as if he had been the first to arrive.

No thanks, the second night with the light show of Madame Lightshow was already enough for me.

After about 11 kilometres I see the German pilgrim, Manya, in Tardajos

and I decide to stay there.

Much later, the Civil Guard brings an Australian pilgrim, Claire, to the shelter. It is her first day.

She has arrived directly from India to Burgos via Madrid and therefor has begun to walk very late today,

as she has not found a place to stay in Burgos.

I kinda freak out because of her sari with those Om symbols everywhere.

A year ago I met Yola here,

a little after Tardajos,

and this time I met a very interesting pilgrim at the shelter in Tardajos.

On the way I meet an Italian pilgrim, Giovanni, who speaks perfectly Spanish.

He had a Spanish girlfriend, and besides, he studied in Monterrey.

He is a very nice guy, but because we speak so much, I have filmed hardly anything at all.

The Santa Brigida albergue in Hontanas is closed.

What a pity, but I want to sleep in Castrojeriz anyhow.

Giovanni met Claire at the exit of Burgos,

but when she had to go to a restroom, he kept on walking.

Interestingly enough, the police only pick up the girls.

Manya wanted to go to the Korean albergue in Castrojeriz,

and Giovanni goes to the municipal.

According to the guide book, one can get a vegetarian meal at the Rosalía Albergue, and that's the way it is.

There are already several pilgrims around, including a very shy German girl, and Katie from Chicago.

Going down from the Alto de Mostelares, Katie starts dancing.

I cannot believe what I see.

In the end I've needed too much time to take out the camera.

Another amazing pilgrim on this way.

In Boadilla del Camino, the place where our group of the Roll of Justice was formed one year ago,

another disappointment has been waiting for me. At the bar af the albergue Titas they do not want to serve me,

and the waiter or hospitalero says they do not have anything, neither cocoa nor snacks,

only fresh drinks.

And the bar of the municipal albergue was closed.

Shortly before arriving at the Canal de Castilla I see Matias, Merche and Miguel.

I know them from Villafranca-Montes de Oca.

My idea was to stay in Fromista to visit the churches of Saint Martin and Saint Telmo again.

According to the guide book, the albergue opens at noon,

but a sign on the door says that it only opens at two o'clock, more than an hour to wait,

in this case I prefer to keep walking.

That is the good thing about the French Way: there is usually another shelter within at least five kilometres,

in this case it is a little over three kilometres.

The only drawback will be that tomorrow it will be a stage either rather short or very long.

On a farm before entering Poblacion de Campos I find an albergue.

It is a new one and very good, and there is only one more pilgrim, a guy from Liechtenstein.

It is very interesting to know a bit of his perspective on the European Union.

It is decided, I stay in Carrion de los Condes.

I do not want to make a stage of 33 kilometres

and realize in Calzadilla de la Cueza that many others have had the same idea

and therefore have to do ten kilometres more to the next albergues.

No, it is better to stay in Carrion,

it is a town with supermarkets,

and there are still several places that I have not visited,

for example the church of Santiago that houses the museum of sacred art,

or the monastery of San Zoilo on the outskirts of Carrion.

In the dormitory of the monastery of the Holy Spirit, I meet several pilgrims again:

Johannes, a Dutchman I met in Cardeñuela,

the shy German girl from Castrojeriz

and a French couple from Tardajos.

They have not seen Claire again.

In the afternoon I visit the monastery of San Zoilo.

I have had a problem with the Gmail app.

I could see that Anna and also Uwe had written,

but I could not open their messages, it was to go crazy.

Someone advised me to open them in the browser, and in fact I can read them now at last.

Maybe it was even better so because this way

I have not tried to do crazy stages to reach Uwe.

And Anna has written me that she does not have time to write me in English.

I do not get it. She speaks English better than me,

in Montserrat she used words that do not appear in my active vocabulary.

It must be another way of saying that she no longer wants to be in touch with me...

I do not have the best memories of today's stage.

From here the problems with my leg began last year.

Again, a remarkable wind blows, but this time it is not so cold.

I'm kind of thoughtful and I do not film much.

I pass Katie, and after a while I catch up Giovanni.

Together we enter a bar in Calzadilla de la Cueza.

Later I catch up a couple.

She is from Prague, but lives in Barcelona.

We have a very interesting conversation.

He is a Canadian from Quebec, younger than her and he seems to be jealous already.

In the end I stay at the Italian albergue San Bruno in Moratinos.

The dinner is very basic.

We are three pilgrims, an Italian bicycle pilgrim, Katie and me.

I've slept at the Italian albergue in Moratinos.

It's very cold today,

an icy wind blows here,

and it is another day on the way,

dear diary.

This time I get to Sahagun without problems.

Luckily I have not made any long stages, but above all I have better boots this time.

A year ago I thought that wider boots would be more comfortable, but it was a mistake.

The feet have less support in those boots and move all the time.

In the centre I see Johannes, the Dutch pilgrim.

The church of San Tirso is open and I enter.

In contrast to my way from Madrid when I went to Leon via Calzadilla de los Hermanillos

I take the variant via El Burgo Ranero this time.

I meet three pilgrims from Berlin who tell me that Manya had not stayed in Carrion

and that she must be in Mansilla de las Mulas already.

Of course, she wanted to arrive earlier in Santiago than she had planned to be able to walk to Finisterre.

I will not see her anymore.

Probably I will not see Katie as well because she wants to stay two days in Leon and she is not in a hurry.

Thirteen years ago I stayed overnight in the municipal albergue of El Burgo Ranero.

It has not changed much, only that there are more showers and toilets now.

That is really good because last time there was a huge queue in front of the bathroom in the morning.

To my surprise, Johannes arrives here too, and we go to the restaurant for having dinner.

That's new.

Johannes told me that he wanted to go to Puente Villarente, a reasonable stage of 25 kilometres,

but I do not like the place, I feel attracted by Leon, a city,

I want to sleep there, it was strange not to have slept in Burgos.

Also I still feel fine, and it's a good day to walk.

In Leon I want to sleep at the albergue where Almu, Yola and Josemari had stayed last time,

but it turns out that they do not serve pilgrims between two and five in the afternoon.

I do not want to wait an hour without being able to take a shower.

With a Brazilian and a Scotsman I go to the albergue of the Carbajalas.

To my great surprise I run into Agnieszka and Giovanni there

when they go out to have a few drinks in the evening.