Day Eighteen: Bercianos to Mansilla

Buenos Noches (o Dias for you) from the Camino!! I keep waiting for the blog entry where I have to admit that it was a terrible day, but that day was not today -- another gorgeous day here!! This morning we were NOT the last ones up or the last ones out the Albergue door (thanks to our new Canadian friends), a small victory that we will take whenever we can. We enjoyed a small communal breakfast of toast and juice before starting our walk. The first town we arrived to was very tiny, so we marched right through to the next one. The next town was about thirteen kilometers away and was actually the town we intended on staying at tonight ... but upon inspection we decided that it would be an okay place for lunch, but definitely not staying over material -- to small and too early in the day. So we ate lunch (croquetas -- my favorite!!) and then walked six kilometers more to Mansilla where we are now. It's a good thing we were both motivated to move today, because we got the last two beds in the Albergue. Well, in the municipal Albergue ... I'm sure there were still some spots left at the privately owned ones. (At least I hope there are, because the Canadian couple was still a ways behind us and I'd like to think tey found a place to sleep for the night!) 

I thought a lot about my Kamp K family today. It all started when I began thinking about how far we've walked already and then I thought about how by the end I will have walked more than five hundred miles and then I got the song "Five Hundred Miles" stuck in my head which then made me think of the energizer we do at camp to that song and pretty soon my brain was singing "World's Greatest" and (long story short) 1. My brain needs to be better at focusing and less inclined to jump around, and 2. I feel so honored to have this group of people in my life. The obstacles that they overcome and the pride and ownership that they demonstrate can only be described as amazing. Every once in a while, my mind (no matter how much I try to live in the moment) wanders to the moment I will have to go home -- thinking about kamp this summer helps ease the wave of sadness I feel when I remember that every journey must have an end. 

After Vera and I checked into our Albergue, we went to check out the church because we saw that it was open. It was so pretty inside with so many spaces for quiet prayer. After I had finished praying we went to get some ice cream ... It was our reward for walking quickly, walking further than we planned, and just making it into the Albergue. There we ran into Gosia and Jarek! It is so nice to run into people we know. We took out ice cream back to the Albergue to sit in the sun and enjoy it -- this is where we met Vim. Vim is also from the Netherlands. He is in his second attempt at the Camino; the first attempt only lasted three weeks, but he is determined to finish this time. Vim's wife encouraged him to do his first Camino, but he was reluctant to leave her; she had had many strokes and relied in him for many things. But she told him to go, do the Camino, because it was his dream and she knew he wanted to do it. After three weeks Vim missed his wife too much and knew she was unhappy in the nursing home where she was staying until his return, so he stopped his Camino early. Vim's wife died in December, so now he is walking the Camino in her honor. He wears her house slippers to rest in at the Albergue to remind him that she is with him. He is seventy one years old. I love hearing the stories of the pilgrims, even the heartbreaking ones. I hope to see Vim again in Santiago. 

When we finished visiting with Vim we went up to our sleep room with the intention of gathering our laundry to wash and to shower ... but instead we took a nap. We woke up when Jarek came to tell us that he and Gosia were going to cook dinner tonight and invited us to join. Pilgrims never pass up a meal (and we really enjoy having meals with them) so we accepted ... and them got up to shower and do our laundry. Cooking dinner is always a bit if an adventure in an Albergue, because you are limited by what the small shops have to offer as well as by what the Albergue kitchens have in the way of utensils and cookware. But this did not stop them from making us a delicious pasta dinner! Vera and I provided the desert -- chocolate pudding. We definitely owe them! 

By the time our meal was consumed and the dishes done, it was almost eight thirty: time for mass!! The mass attendance was small, but the ladies of the parish were so welcoming and kind; they had nothing but big smiles and "Buen Camino"s for us. At the end of the mass the priest said: If you are from here, have a good night. If you are a pilgrim, Buen Camino! And still have a good night. haha It feels good to know you are welcome. Sometimes I wonder what locals think of pilgrims -- it is hard to miss us with our monster packs and disheveled looks and distinct aroma ... but we do try to be respectful of the towns we enter and always attempt to leave the place more beautiful than when we came (not with decorations or donations, but from the joy, prayer, and spirit we bring with us and leave in our wakes). 

And now I am tucked into bed, ready for a good night's sleep. Here are a few pictures from the day: 

A gorgeous day for walking. 

It kind of looks dessert like ... 

Oh no. Mountains. Which inspired my btain to sing "I Hope You Dance" for a good portion of my walk ... (I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance; never settle for the path of least resistance ...) 

Today's selfie kind of looks like it belongs on a safari brochure ... 

Our chefs hard at work!! Gosia cooking and Jarek .... eating the food before it is cooked. haha 

Iglesia de Santa Maria -- and of course the pilgrim out front. 

A beautiful place to pray, don't you think? 

There are so many beautiful figures of the Blessed Mother here in Spain. 

And by bed for the night. 

Tomorrow is such a short walking day -- only eighteen kilometers. And there will be no walking longer because we will be in Leon!! I can't wait to explore the city!! 

Buen Camino. 

Jena