Boadilla del Camino to Carrion de los Condes 25K Day Thirteen

Marilyn calls this place ¨Carrion of the Condors¨. We hope this is not a self-fulfilling prophecy. This morning we left by headlamps once again and it was so calm and peaceful under the stars, but mui frio! Our newly-purchased mitts from a delightful Tienda owner were much appreciated. We walked along the Canal de Castilla, which was constructed in the 1700´s for irrigation, transport, and grain milling. It was so serene with bullrushes lining the sides. I kept thinking I might discover Moses in a basket.

By lunch today, my knees were really hurting. Every day the questions are: Where will I feel pain? Where will the pain gravitate as the day wears on? Will I make it to my destination? It is amazing to me that my ankles can be hurting and 10K later, the pain will have diminished or that I can stumble into a village after 30K, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, and the next morning I will feel ready to go again. Perhaps the message is that life is never going to be without aches, pains, and troubles, but it is how we respond to these problems that makes the difference. We can choose to focus on the pain, feel it more intensely, and stop our journey OR we can slow our pace and continue on life´s journey, one foot in front of the other, until the pain moves on or diminishes.

Monica and I had a great walk with one of the Finnish film participants. In order to hear his story, I had to increase my pace and my knee got better. He had tried to do the Camino two years ago, but had to stop because of an injury. We were filmed walking with him....I think I am going to ask for a cut of the film profits. Crocodile Dundee, one of the other film participants, is presently out with the stomach flu. Oh these young studs!

We were reunited with Marilyn and Elizabeth in Villalcazar and celebrated with a bottle of vino and a picnic in the plaza. They surprised us with a special gift, purchased from the same Tienda man who sold us our mitts,....rubber boots to quiet the steel points on Judy and Therese´s trekking poles, that have annoyed all of us with their incessant clacking.

Upon our arrival this evening at our albergue, Judy led us once again in the ritual of Yoga stretches. Marilyn needs a belt, her pants now refusing to stay up with all her ´trimming and toning´. Way to go, Marilyn!