Day Fifteen: Boadillas to Corrion

First of all: Happy Mother's Day to the world's greatest mother -- my mother! Even though this Mother's Day we are literally half a world apart, we are never really apart because I carry with me all of your teachings, your advice, your habits, your sayings, and your love everywhere I go. I love you so much and can't wait to see you!! (And more importantly I hope you can't wait to see me. June 1st. At the airport. Don't forget me.) 

Secondly: we survived the "Albergue" last night!! And truth be told, for as crazy as our host was, it was the best night of sleep I've had yet -- only Vera and I and one other person in a room to ourselves. We slept in a bit (7:15) and then got up and started walking. After about six kilometers we reached Formista where we had breakfast. And by breakfast, I mean I was starving and had a pastry and a tortilla and cafe con leche. After we left Formista we got to a fork in the path, one way being an "alternative" route. We don't do alternative. Alternative usually means less signs, less people, and more of a chance of getting lost; so we stuck to the main route. I knew from looking at the guidebook that we should reach a town at four kilometers and another at five kilometers and another two kilometers later, the third town being the one where we planned to eat lunch. So we start walking, and in no time a all we are at the first town (and we praised ourselves for being so quick). We continue marching onward, and again even more quickly we arrive in town number two. We are so quick we reward ourselves with a break! We pick back up and keep moving forward and soon come to the third town where we find a little cafe and go inside. As we sat drinking our tea, I pulled out the guidebook to see how much further we had to go for the day and started looking for the name of the town we were currently in ... and I looked, and I looked ... Um, where are we? On the alternative route. Of course we are. You should know that we have not marched the eleven kilometers we thought we had ( in one and a half hours ) but rather a little over eight. Also: we have been walking all day along a rather unattractive road. It is a quiet road, but rumor has it that the "alternative route" which is actually the original route was gorgeous. Oh well. The total kilometers turn out to be the same, and after a few kilometers further both routes rejoined. 

So last night I had this dream that after I got back from the Camino, instead of returning to my apartment I went to live in great-grandma Mertens' old house, which is strange because I haven't thought about that house in ages. Then today, despite the not so pretty sites, we came across the most beautiful and fragrant rose bushes -- I smelled them before I saw them. And they didn't smell like a funeral home (the way I think most flowers do) but smelled just like the ones that great-grandma always had growing along her driveway and cut on her kitchen table. I always think of great grandma when I see roses. I think she was trying to tell me that she was with me on the Camino today. 

We arrived into Corrion (every time I saw a sign for Corrion I thought of "carry on" and then proceeded to sing that song for the next five hundred meters ... May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground ... carry oooooooooooonnnn) a little earlier than our normal (we really had been walking quickly despite all our breaks) and went to the first Albergue we saw, but they could only offer us one bed which was not okay -- so we walked down to the next one: and I'm so glad we did!! This Albergue is the parish Albergue run by the order of sisters of this town. We were greeted at the door with a cool drink of water and they offered us soup if we were hungry. We also got to buy second pilgrim passports since ours are almost full (have I mentioned how much we live getting stamps?!) After a quick rest, a shower, and some TLC for the toes, we were back out for mass. The church was small (though bigger than my home parish) and though nowhere nearly as ornate as the church in Los Arcos was still very beautiful with a simpler alter piece and beautiful side devotional areas. After mass there was a blessing of the pilgrims by both the priest and the sisters -- it was so beautiful! The priest recognized each of the countries we had come from and then blessed us one by one making the sign of the cross on our foreheads while the sisters gave us these paper stars asking us to take them with us to Santiago and then to our homes. 

After mass, Vera, Gorscha, Jarek, and I went out to dinner where every cat in Carrion waited for us to feed them our food. (Which of course we did, only attracting more cats.) And now I am tucked into my bed (literally tucked because it is so chilly!!) and ready for sleep. Tomorrow after we leave this town there is a seventeen kilometer stretch with no towns -- we stopped by a market to grab food for that time: I grabbed nuts and dried fruit and an apple and Cheetos and cookies; Vera bought gummy candies .... It's a good thing I'm a good sharer!! 

Here are some pictures from the day: 

Los tres amigos!! And also the three line survivors from the crazy Albergue experience! 

The views today were only meh ... but the temperature was nice and the walk wasn't difficult. 

Beautiful roses to brighten our walk! 

Today's selfie is with .... a donkey!! The cafe we ate at had two donkeys just wandering the patio like stray dogs, but instead of begging at the tables they just helped themselves to whatever everyone else was having. 

Most towns have some type of pilgrim monument lurking somewhere ... this is one from today. 

We were laying down on a small brick wall, resting our feet and our eyes when I looked up and saw this arched rainbow encircling the sun -- it was so strange and so pretty! 

Church!! I love when the doors are open and the pilgrims are invited inside!! 

The dinner crew! 

So I ordered fish, and it came like this ... I would like to say that I can add "eating a whole fish" to my repertoire of culinary accomplishments, but since I could not master eating it with a fork and instead ate it with my hands like a toddler, I think I will have to wait to check it off the list until I have practiced a bit. However: the cats LOVED the head, tail, and bones. Happy to donate to the cause! 

And my bed for tonight. 

Tomorrow will be a long day, but I am hopeful that it will be filled with pretty views, deep thoughts, and good company. 

Buen Camino. 

Jena