I’ve been walking shorter days recently. This has been great for my research project. I’ve been walking about 17 k then taking the remainder of the day off to rest and study, it’s worked out really well. I’m not tired by the end of the day and I’ve done enough walking to get my mind churning. On the other side of that, because we’ve been taking shorter days we’ve been ending up in strange towns. Most recently, we stayed in this tiny village with a tiny little grocery store that was packed with things from the 80’s. That town was trapped in a time bubble.
I had my birthday in Burgos on the twelfth. I ran into a lot of people I knew, which was cool! That morning we all split ways which was a positive thing. Falling from the grape cluster, it was all I could do to be happy! There was too many people all the time.
Though I’m still with others and while the allure of freedom sings, even presently, it’s not bad. I have space to breath life on to paper as kindling sparks to flame. I have the freedom to walk rolling hills alone and think.
Here is something I found interesting. NPR has spoken on how when faced with homogeneous surroundings for long enough, say your lost at sea, or in my case in plains. NPR said your mind begins to make its own music. While that sounds like insanity to me. I can’t help but think of the same things over and over, which has a recognizable beat…..
The weather has been pretty wet. The landscapes have been amazing. Endless rolling green and grey skies make me feel like I’m trapped on a Gateway computer screen saver. Yesterday, I walked down one of the most beautiful roads I ever have. It was raining and the road was muddy, but reeds stuck from foaming rivers like porcupine quills. Rusty fences and rotting posts slowly sunk in muddy fields. I trodded along as small brown birds stared in the pouring rain. My experience here has been nothing short of amazing!
I normally keep to myself on the camino. Occasionally, I talk with my fellow walkers, but the interaction is always short. I’m usually pretty disinterested, but when I was approached by a man named Patrick I could tell right away that there was something different about him. It was little things, like how he positioned his body at angled positions to other people’s bodies. I dont know much about fighting, but I know enough to recognize a trained person. Then I saw he was missing the thumb of his left hand. I noticed how he dealt with people, politely enough, but with the coldest efficiency.
I was very surprised when he approached me to talk. Until he was 45 he was a French armor captain. When he retired he was approached by big oil to run private security. He told me of his experiences all around the globe from Saudi Arabia and Yemen to Nigeria. How important diplomacy was in his work, he talked to me about getting to know a tribe and the way they would go about dealing with people. He explained how once they left the area it would become completely destabilized. It was just interesting to share a space with someone like that. It’s not very often that you meet people from that walk of life. When I asked him what he took from it all he told me, “Patience.”
I’ve been dreaming a lot more since I’ve been walking the camino. I usually can’t recall them, but I always get them mixed up in my day to day life, I feel like a fraying thread. I’ll bring up conversations that I’ve thought the group has talked about, but I’ve only dreamed the interactions, strange things like that.
I’m writing this blog post in an old cathedral turned albergues. One that’s been rebuilt, it’s sides are original, but it’s innards and roof are completely new. It’s very beautiful.
I know this is kind of a disjointed post. It’s hard to summarise everything because there is just so much. Each day is an overload to the senses. It’s a very overwhelming experience. I’ll try to post with more frequency.
My project is going well. I’ve been writing a lot and I’ve been reading some great publications about light. The strange thing about it all is that I don’t really feel like I have a goal with any of my work. I’m just doing it, because well, I guess it’s distracting from the magnitude of everything.
Thinking about everyone, I miss you always. I’ll write again soon
-Evan
