Woke six thirty because I planned to walk over 30kms which is a long day for a slow walker such as me... I ate left over pasta for breakfast..had coffee and was still kind of tired..around 7ish I hear knock on door..the noise that woke my last night was a young Spaniard who had camped out outside because he came too late..he'd gotten lost..he'd come in at ten and had walked 40kms instead of 30kms because he'd gotten wrong directions from locals.. which is a shame, either they dont know their own walking paths or they misdirected him as a joke.. he is going towards Rome. If I understood correctly, he's already completed the Camino and is now doing it in reverse.. he told me that this year was actually not as crowded as last...he told me I was lucky because it was a holy year a lot of people decided not to go walk pilgrimage to avoid the crowds..so ironically it was less crowded on a holy year..... the gite man came by checking up on me, or so I guessed. He spoke with the young man for a while..apparently he spoke Spanish because he was originally from Barcelona... .. all this chatting meant I got out a little later than I wanted since I knew I had to walk long... it was after 7.30 once I did get going..... I had been warned it would be a hot day, another reason to get going..
It was not too difficult to find the trail..since the young Spaniard had gotten lost the day before going the other way, it had been a concern of mine...but I suspect the markings going to Rome are not quite as well maintained as those going to Santiago..... There was lots of shade fortunately.. but humid heat managed to penetrated it as well... As far as the scenery, it was a rolling hill walk..as far as difficulty, morning part till noon was not too bad..i stuck to my usual routine of taking lots of mini breaks... none of the towns seemed to have open bars or restaurant despite promises made by my book...in Lacommande got water from lady at a small open Museum and sat in the open church which was cool, dark, and simple....
Today like yesterday, ironically there were no dog confrontations at all...not to be too superstitious but it almost seemed like I had some weird Karma to purify with dogs... and once I decided that feeding them was a way to work with my fears, somehow, that in and of itself was the antidote to my problem... as in feeding your demons and inviting them for tea..instead of fighting them or fighting your fears...I had purified what ever I needed to work on that particular fear... at least for now and in the way it had manifested... none-the-less I now had my little dog treats and I had them out and ready as I passed farms and open gates.. I noticed there had been a change in how I felt internally, as I approached these place, which was so much calmer, then from my big day of fear...... physically, today I felt not as strong ..I was still suffering the effects of shorted sleep and waking up a lot during the night....i think it is heat related.. The night before, i had not wanted to keep the window open, since I was sleeping on the ground floor... My mind also was getting itself i trouble, I caught myself through out the day thinking of negative social interactions I had in this past situation I was coming up with things I should have done or said...i think sometimes when I exercise I catch myself working up anger unconsciously trying to give myself energy ..i dont think it is the best use of my time and mind....but it happens by accident... and today was one of those days...having met the germans recently brought up some cultural ways i had been raised.. which I had found hard as a child.. ... and part of my ruminations was revisiting some of those issues....on a lighter side, In the morning I met three dutch men.. they had started walking from Oloron the day before but then decided to returned to Orolon to watch an important soccer match... we laughed... most pilgrims I had met did not seem very interested in the world cup...and it certainly did not keep them up late or change their walking plans..so these guys were the first ones i'd met who actually changed their itinerary... but they were hardcore pilgrims none-the-less.. ...one had done pilgrimage a few times including Canterbury to Rome in five and half months..they all seemed to carry a lot of weight on their backs, like me... the more serious looking man was going all the way to Rome..the others were just accompanying him for a few days...they were looking forward towards that evening's game: Germany vs Spain..
It was clear that I was walking even less than three kms an hour since I was hitting markers so late...I did get a good glimpse of what i think is the Pyrenese today and in general the landscape was attractive farm land and lots of forest throughout day..and rolling hills.. For the last bit I used music from my mp3 player to propel me and get me off my thought tracks.. Sadly I only had one working head phone...too much banging around...
I could tell the walk was longer than my patience, at the end I needed water and I was getting frustrated at the french camino again for being so austere and avoiding town shops etc..... finally, I passed a cemetery in Goes...and got my water, I had learned that tip from a french pilgrim...french cemeteries all seem to have water taps... and I guess the water is safe enough to drink since I have not had real problems..... then finally into Oloron... I climbed over a hill into the village and was trying to take a photo of the church when man approached me, he wanted to know if I knew where the gite was... I did not, but it sounded like he did..... but first we established he'd done Camino four times which he was very proud of...and he wanted to know where I had started today... what nationality I was... etc..then I brought me to the gite and luckily the man running it was still there..it felt more like a youth hostel, all clean and new.....and a bit uptight...i got my room assignment and went to claim my bed..there was a man already there..to my surprise the man in my room had so much attitude he could not even say hello to me, I had not met a pilgrim like that before.... I do remember my encounter with the austrian pilgrim way back in Italy... and he had said that, even those who did the camino just for sport were deeply moved and changed by upon completing the journey....
there seemed to be a lot of hiking shoes in the lobby..common practice is that the hiking boots are taking off immediately upon entering the gite... because of dirt and stink they are kept away from the sleeping quarters..so everyone has sandals or flip flops as their second pair of shoes...later I realized Oloron was the coming together of at least three of the french walking paths so that is why I was seeing all these new pilgrims, they were coming from the two northern paths..and some people start in Oloron.... as usual I .showered and did laundry... I had to take a long walk to get food,since things seemed to be closing... I found a bar stool in a sandwich shop, it was very hot and crowded, and I had a grilled cheese sandwich ...the walk to and from the place was pretty there were several bridges over rivers i crossed with build up walls and houses overhanging..very photogenic...
back at then a little bit of journaling and a beer at a bar, the Germany Spain soccer-game was just beginning an tv..... later i would hear that Spain won...
I felt a little pain in my hip which is an old problem area that I tend to get more from biking...then I returned to the hostel... I went into the kitchen area to plug in my lap top and do some homework...a German girl I had seen earlier approached me in speaking in english, saying she had seen on the sign up sheet, that I was American and wanted to know where I was from...turns out she living in Idaho..i stayed up way too late talking to her....she's in her late twenties and she is doing the Camino and other european travel for three months basically to get away from her home situation so she can think about everything...she's thinking of leaving her husband...he is quite a bit older than her...and initially had been very helpful in a recovery she had undergone..but perhaps too paternal... now she had regained her strength and wanted more independence as is befitting of an adult..and now there was tension in the marriage... she is made to feel they are her problems by her husband.. she also wanted to leave her carrier of managing a bakery and try a life of being an artist... so the impression I got is that she would probably end up leaving the relationship.... they had been together 8 years and lived in several countries together...so there was a lot of history but also now different views of the future... she has the rare dual citizenship with america and germany because of her age.. and because her dad was an american soldier...she says people just a few years younger than her can not claim dual citizenship... nor can me or my brother because we are too old...laws are so arbitrary sometimes... i have heard that people come to the Camino because of problems they want to sort out...or to re-evaluate their lives.. so she was doing just that.. since she was staying a few days here and walking shorter stages than i, i knew i would probably not see her again... so we wished each other luck and success on our individual paths..
i went to bed midnight!! a big pilgrim no no...
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