Birthday on the Camino

These Italians just can't leave it alone. Massimo chatted up our Swiss volunteer and used the donativo kitchen to cook for us last night. Pasta with tomato sauce and meatballs, of course. While he was cooking, we attended a Mass for pilgrims in the church in the evening. We were blessed, sung for, and sprinkled with holy water. All traditional Catholic stuff.

My Fiona slept in her sleeping bag on the sleeping pad outside. Two German campers kept her company, and she behaved very well. It hurts me to leave her outside in the cold. It's around 6 degrees outside at the moment. But she seems to be doing just fine. She's very robust. I'm so proud of her. She's walking very efficiently now, staying close by, watching out in crowds so she doesn't get lost, and avoiding other dogs because she doesn't want to waste energy playing, etc. She's even happy to wear her backpack now and doesn't complain. When Fiona wants a drink, she stands in front of me and waits for a stream of water from my hydration system. When Fiona wants to take a break and gets tired, she nudges my hand. At that point, I put her backpack on my backpack. In the heat, she walks ahead to the next shade, lies down, and waits for me to catch up. Sometimes when I'm sleeping in the hammock and she's under me on the sleeping pad in her sleeping bag, she gets startled. She wakes me up by nudging the hammock with her nose. She falls asleep better when my arm hangs out of the hammock and touches her. Sometimes she's like my child. I'm proud to have such a great and smart dog.

This morning we started a bit later, around 6:30. For breakfast, we had coffee and celebrated Laercio's 57th birthday. On the Camino, you meet people from all over the world.

I wondered why this older person met me before the first day. He was the one who advised me to walk through the French Pyrenees at the train station in Bordeaux. I'm glad I listened to this clever Brazilian man.

Meeting Laercio at the beginning of my journey was so important. He sees the world so much better than I do, so I learned from him to see the beauty in small things along the way. Taking time for the moment and being grateful.

Laercio has done this route before. He was an alcoholic, had wealth, and many women around him. He never told me exactly what happened on his last Camino, but now he is religious and doesn't drink. He has an adult son, a beautiful fifth wife, and three lakes where he breeds fish. He seems to be happy and regards this route as something sacred. He comes here every few years on the Camino, only walks a part of the way because his shoulder and hips aren't as good anymore. He helps pilgrims, enjoys being together, visits churches, and prays. Tomorrow in Burgos will be his last pilgrimage with us. So, others here are also forging their own paths. On Sunday, I will probably drive part of the way to make up for the kilometers I lost through the Pyrenees.

For days, I've been telling Irina that my wish is to speak Russian with someone here. Today, I met a woman from St. Petersburg. Olja has been preparing for the Camino for about 15 years. A Spanish friend told her about his pilgrimage 20 years ago. Olja has already driven to many of these villages. Like me, she is only doing the route to Burgos and will come back next year to complete the rest of the journey.