6-5-10 Gallargues-le-Montueux to Montpllier day 62

6-5-10 Gallargues-le-Montueux to Montpllier day 62

the guys were already awake and up at 6;45 so I made myself roll out of bed.. I grabbed laundry and packed things up.. there was some made coffee waiting for me...and by seven we were leaving the place.. the french man stayed behind he would be leaving a bit later... on the way out of town we stopped at the bakers and I got pizza slice and a small veggie quiche for later... then we followed the red white markers out of town... at an intersection were the greek had left me the day before was a man with a pack and he had the tell tale shell on it so we knew he was a pilgrim too..he seemed a little uncertain about the trail start so we all walked together...he spoke french only so..my italian guide switched from english to french with periodic confusions which were funny... it was clear that the pace at which he wanted to go was slower than me and the older mans... I stoically tried to keep up..in the beginning it was easier because when the french man engaged him in conversation he would slow down while they talked... so secretly I was wishing for lots of conversation that I could not understand.... again as the day progressed despite language barrier there was a growing connection between me and the older french man... he too had made a lot of fuss in the beginning about the heaviness of my pack...again I felt the shame of the inexperienced stupid pilgrim...but after a while when he ascertained...that somehow I had managed to travel by myself for two months walking and from assisi...i seemed to gain some street cred...especially because after the pilgrimage I would continue on by myself to other countries...with some mystic, like maybe Tunisia... he wanted to know where in Provence I had walked and stayed since he was from near there..by the way, the italian would of course translate... I showed him on the map where I had circled the places I over-nighted in red...because to tell you the truth I could not remember the day before never mind several days back, where i had been... perhaps because this pilgrimage presented enough conditions to keep me in the present...back to walking: I wished for more breaks and longer..but I had signed my deal I really wanted to keep up with him since last bit seemed confusing and merky to me and I had run out of map..our french friend would turn off near Baillargues.. I think, he had a sister there and he would stay with her, and he would get to Montpellier by bus the following day...he too was only doing a 15 day portion of the path... and he too was a veteran pilgrim... I was beginning to wonder if I would meet any first timers...now the two of us alone and the day was waning... my friend started pushing ahead... he'd been slowing himself down a lot for me..and I think it was hard for him...so we pushed on...and we both ran out of water ...it was a hot day..with sporadic shade... he speculated somewhat frustrated why the people who created this path did not have the trail get closer to villages...they were all another 3 or more km diversion off the route which is not helpful on such a long stretch.. he said a lot of old people do this journey and this part was the more difficult part because the distances between pilgrim points where so far apart and then there was no place to stop for safe drinking water...i in fact had been low on water way too early, I really thought I had planned better but no...although truthfully I could have drunk four liters that day...and I could never have carried that much... he helped pass the time by talking to me about conspiracy theory stuff, he works in a video store and sees a lot of documentaries...so he talked to me about the plot of a series called Zeitgeist which to me sounded in part 'conspiracy' but also reminded me that for perhaps too long I have not looked deeper into the controlling powers of the world and what is happening to the environment and to civil liberties of all humans. Interestingly this all seemed so much more compelling as I was struggling physically to keep walking..….finally we stumbled into Vendargues, both very foot sore... we came in through the residential side...thirst had made him bold and he asked a man outside his yard if we could have some water... he called his wife and eventually she came out... she agreed and to our happy surprise it was not just a small glass of water but a big cold 1.5 liter bottle, she wanted no payment for it... we split it and downed it in a minute...then we walked to what we thought was a bus stop..after a while a man passed and my friend tried to find out if the bus was running, we were told no..not on a saturday....so we got our things and moved further into town...then we found what was to be the 'right bus stop' it had a schedule and we had 45 min wait till it came.. at this point I was of the impression that it stopped 4kms outside of montpellier so the walking would not be over quite yet.. .we'd cleared about 25 so far and it was 2.30pm ...since we had such a long wait he went to look for a shop with water... I waited under a tree by the stand with our bags... he came back with two more small bottles ..again we both seemed to suck them down immediately...we were so happy about having water... then it turned out despite schedule and despite further confirmation from a local..the bus did not come... my friend said we still had 12kms to do and we'd better get going...hopefully to find another town along the way with tram or bus...so I was trying not to panic..cuz his pace quickened.. and I was dying... I was trying to figure out plan b for myself... one of the probs was I did not have the info to were the pilgrims place was and if he went off ahead I might come in so late it would not be open... so I tried to keep up...but kind of keeping an eye open for hotels or anything... then I saw another bus stand a different line... I think the bus was coming in only a few minutes...but he was concerned we would waist more time waiting for another non-existent bus... ten minutes later it whipped passed us...we were walking through some park and there was a truck vendor for food and drink so we got more water.. .and information that was a blessing to my ears...yes there was a tram station about one km away..and yes it definitely was running.. I almost felt like my friend had given up hope ...he was saying something like if the tram is not running I am going to some place with a lot of people until I get information about taxi which I will then take.. he had a tight 15 day schedule and he did have to meet his marks each day... while he said it we saw a tram coming from the opposite direction so we knew it was still running... I was still limping after him having gotten blisters again today... it had been a while... and sure enough running tram ..even better than bus, because it went into Montpellier completely and it was not running every two hours but every 15 minutes or less, there was a little electric sign giving the times..... we only had a five minute wait..luckily he knew Montpellier so he knew which stop to get off... the ride was air conditioned...he too was complaining about fatigue and foot soreness... it had been a hard day for him too... I found that surprising... when we got into the town...he lead the way with dead certainty through a maze of humans and streets..again I felt lucky to have him as guide... we were both tired enough that the fact that we had walked into the middle of rainbow bright gay pride celebrations...as stinky dirty pilgrims got only weak giggles from ourselves..we came to the pilgrims place and it was already open...there seemed to be a lot of people there being friendly and talking to us..it felt a bit overwhelming .. I just wanted to sit down...the lady who ran it spoke french and spanish so I had to wait for explanations... upon arriving I decided I would stay two days in town.. I was only allowed one night here as a pilgrim but that was fine... there was also a youth hostle in town...so we got things sorted with the lady and credentials stamped... there was no required donation here.. but we could leave money if we wanted.. there was a dorm room and one bathroom which was being used...so because it was getting late we decided to run errands first..he needed after sun lotion since he was getting a reaction from too much sun... he helped me get a french guide which I was dubious about for the pilgrimage for the french part of the trail... he insisted I would not need one in spain because it is so well organized there.. .he showed me a little how to use it..it had maps ...it showed how far things were apart in segments so for someone like me who wont do 30kms in a day it's good to know the in-between stops.. and also phone numbers to make arrangements for overnight stays...he insisted he used the same guide before he spoke french and it proved helpful... so I got it instead of my usual road map..then we stopped at a mini market so he could get some food supplies for his long walk tomorrow...then back to the pilgrims place. We tried to use the bathroom to shower etc..but again some late comer was in there so we waited around..it turned out it was the french buddhist ...when he came out..it turns out he had walked a mere 4kms today and had taken the bus the rest of the way here...he stuck his tongue out at us teasing us for having walked a hard day as we did, we laughed.. I perhaps should have gone with him...but no, the suffering was purifying... ha ha.. .i talked to the hostesses daughter who came in and spoke english..she lived in paris and was just down here to visit child hood friends and her parents... she talked about her adventures travel she had biked through-out asia...including five months in china... she had also traveled from the east to the west of canada … she said she had not traveled much in a couple of years because of work..but it sounded like in the not too distant future she was looking for another long adventure.. I realized that I had developed this tremendous thirst for talking to women... which later in the night would continue.. it just arose without any signs..i just realized as I talked with them that it was almost like sometimes when I come out of retreat and I need to talk too much.. I kept it in check..but I guess the conversations i've had up till now were mostly me learning and listening and perhaps not sharing that much.... an older french lady pilgrim came from the german border so I could speak with her in german...she was very kind and gentle, she too had done the camino...she was here with her teenage grand daughter who had walked with her for a few days but is going back by train now to her home... then a german woman came.. .she again had that extra energy of someone who really engaged in life...so somehow with all this blah blah going on both me and my friend managed to squeeze showers in...and then we went out to dinner it was now passed 8pm..we found a cheaper place... he again ordered steak but got something that looked more like a hamburger paddy... I got some egg cheese thing with veggies in it... perhaps it was in the omelet family? And fries and salad...then we both limped back to the rooms... he was soon heading off to bed...and I thanked him again...for company, conversation, and encouraging tips about my trip... he actually never said anything about my pack being too big...in fact he kind of defended me a little..pointing out that I had made it from Assisi and that as a first timer you just learn as you go..since he too did not know what he was doing the first time.... I went into the kitchen area to plug in my lap top and do mantras, and the usual...when the german lady joined me so we started of course to talk...till really late... but I could sleep in sort of... so she was from Ulm Germany, it's between Stutgard and Munich and therefore southern... she said when she was younger she traveled a lot... but in the last few years she had just worked... she had been on spiritual quest for a while..also traveling in asia...she had looked into many traditions but decided to return back to her roots and became a christian...she is catholic by family but she is joining now collective groups in germany where there is no leader but it's circle of people sharing as peers.. think she called them vineyard groups... because of this rediscovery of her Christianity she wanted to do the camino to see what she would examine her faith and what it really meant.. she seemed to have a lot of common points with me...struggles with a heavy pack...feet problems...she said for a month and a half she was fine (she had also been traveling for two months) but then she hit a wall, I could relate to this...and also she had some issues with getting lost... she talked about weeping in the woods for two hours... we both laughed because that so resonated.... and she felt a lot of practice seemed to be around developing patience...especially when it came to finding places to sleep for the night...i had told her about todays march and chasing after young men...she said she'd seen male and female couple hikers were the man is way ahead and the woman is struggling to keep up.. I laughed because that's kinda what it was like...she said, and this really clicked 'it is a different trip for men, this camino, than it is for women' perhaps that is why I had this thirst awaken in me this day..to talk to women and share our experience... I felt there was a missing component.. I had talked to a few men about the pilgrimage and these were all men who'd done it before.... I felt like their experience though helpful was not quite mirroing mine... not that anyone's would ..but now talking to women not that we were the same either...but there is a piece of their experience that helps complete the picture for me a bit more.... also I think women are better able to express the psychological aspect of their experience to me... she said that for having a bigger pack walking 20kms a day was quite impressive actually...well thank you!... I blabbed on about me as well..but we already know that story..one thing that I talked about that seems to be a continuing thread is this mixed feeling of being both american in some of my traites and world view but also still identifying very much with my european side . When I travel I find that it important to identify myself as both because it is a more accurate description of who I am..in the past I felt like I had become uneuropean and never american enough so I had no real place in either world..now I see with surprise how american I am in some things and not in other..it just is an observation now not a struggle.. simply I get influenced by the places I live in.... after our talk, I still had to do my homework and stayed up way too late... but it was not a quiet night anyway..there was a courtyard with bars and cafes out our windows and gay pride seemed to be going on right outside..with very drunk singing and yelling into the predawn hours... I had my little static on my mp3 that blocked out the noise...but someone in the room closed the windows.. and it got too warm... oh well... I had no walking to do the next day...