7-16-10 notes Izco to Tiebas day 103

7-16-10 notes Izco to Tiebas day 103

Upon awaking I feel more well slept than I have in a while... I get going around seven.. today's goal 23 kms.. Somehow although feeling okay, I am not really goal focused and it feels like I could just stop anywhere... again fortunately today, breeze keeps me cool throughout day.. I do feel a little light headed....The towns I pass are small and have no shops that I can see..I find places to fill my water, this seems to be easy in Spain....
It seems I am still working with my mind, keeping it on a leash..since I don't want to get too caught up by thoughts..the landscape is similar to the last two days.. rolling hills golden fields with some bands of dark green cutting through the landscapes....over all I really feel good today.. it feels like Camino is pulling me...the weather is perfect... walking is easier..

my need to take breaks is less... ..Then once in Tiebas.. I was told by some pilgrim who was sitting outside the Auberge, I had to go to the Auberge to find the man running it... to be allowed in and get a bed assignment and of course pay... so I go, I don't know who it is suppose to be... the bar tender points out an older thin man with a pony tail... he chucks down is drink and walks back with me.. it seems to be a longer than usual processing time.. he uses the computer to translate between English and Spanish..the Auberge looks clean and new... and my room is empty... although soon I would meet the young Spanish man again who I'd run into daily....he tries to help me access the wifi here since it does not seem to be working..but no luck..... A Polish young man shows up.. . We talk a little and he shows me photos of where he crossed the Pyrenees. He had crossed them past Lourdes so south from me, with his cousin..it was much higher altitude...so they had snow and glaciers, they camped there and it looked very cold.. he had started in Lourdes with his cousin, but because he walked a lot faster than him they were now walking separately...they were on a tight schedule though because they had limited funds and had bought return tickets from Santiago already so they had to arrive by a certain date...both were having foot and leg problems already from walking too much too soon...We also talked about the Polish president who had recently died with many other important Polish politicians in a plane crash. I asked him if the Polish people thought it was a Russian conspiracy, and many feel it is..he very opposed to any Russian influence on his country..his plane had crashed over Russia ...his twin brother had tried to win the elections after his death did not succeed... the new president is apparently more liberal but also more friendly towards Russia..so if you love conspiracies this sure sounds like it has all the ingredients....I took a long nap...afterward the Spanish man lets me know that we have keys to the church if I want to go...

so I go with him and a Spanish woman and a boy I though was her child, .. the church is simple and beautiful...we are allowed to climb up the the bell tower... and see the giant bells... they explain that during new years the bells swing around their axes completely...but usually they just swing back and forth..

....It is getting late, and I am hungry..we all go to the bar...they order some drinks and help me order a ....It is getting late, and I am hungry..we all go to the bar...they order some drinks and help me order a giant vegetarian sandwich... the young boy is actually older than he looks, he is 14 year. He is the only one who speaks English a little so he becomes my translator... he had decided on his own to walk the Camino, he plans to walk ten days a year until he completes it.. he has asked his young aunt to join him as sort of parent-friend figure... she is very friendly, she had learned French fluently and said she was determined to learn English as well.. having lived in America so long I do find it odd to sit in a bar with a 14 year old, but here cafe-bar-restaurant are all kind of the same....it is a late evening... but just as we are going to bed... a very ill looking man is brought into the room by our Auberge man... He is the cousin of the Polish man... The Auberge man was very concerned about him... apparently he had tried to sleep in someone's garage and that person had driven him to this Auberge.. he seemed quite beyond his limits... the Auberge man was trying to get hims settled in and have him drink some water, he came up about five times to see if the man had followed orders, but the man seemed strangely stubborn... although the night was cool he still looked overheated... it took a while to convince him to take liquids... he showered and finally we all got to settle in for sleep... the young 18yr old Polish boy was some how made responsible for his 28 year old cousin who was not able to walk as fast as him but was too competitive to be left behind... I had also found out that he was not eating because he was trying to loose weight.... I know we all bring our stubbornness to the Camino...but this seemed very unhealthy... we go to sleep after eleven...