YOUR INTERNAL GPS
DAY 11: 24 km to Guemes
After breakfast, Michel, Berrie, Catalan (a Romanian who hikes in his underwear) and I head out. It looks like a gorgeous day and the Camino takes us on a beach walk, and then up a scrubby hill where we get a fantastic view of the beach we just crossed, and a preview of the next beach we are going to cross. What a great way to start the day! Crossing the beaches takes us a couple of hours, so to celebrate and stay in the beach moment, we stop for cafe con leche.
The hostel in Guemes is highly recommended. It is owned by a catholic pastor who has converted his grandparent’s estate into pilgrim's lodging. He is legendary according to all the pilgrim guidebooks. When we arrive at the Guemes hostel we think we have already died and gone to heaven. The hostess greets us with delicious well water and cookies and fruit! The showers are hot and even include soap. And there is more soap for doing our laundry! At 8 pm, we are summoned by Pastor Ernesto to his library for a talk about the trail and the local environment. We are 20 pilgrims. He speaks in Spanish, someone translates to French, and then someone else to English, and then another makes an English to German translation.
Father Ernesto was born on his grandparent’s estate 72 years ago. Eleven years ago, he started the pilgrim hostel with 200 pilgrims staying on the property the first year. Last year he had 4,000 pilgrims! Father Ernesto talks to us about a problem in the region with the planting of eucalyptus, which is not native, is fast growing, is depleting the soil and competes with native plants. He also expresses concern over urbanization and deforestation which are negatively affecting the bird migration in Spain. He also spoke to our journey as pilgrims, saying:
Pilgrims who made it this far are intelligent and creative.
The path is very difficult.
Even with coming from a materialistic society, and suffering through blisters, etc., we can still find joy and meaning - whether we believe in God or not.
The destination is the journey.
We find meaning in our relationships with one another.
Father Ernesto goes on to describe the three possible paths for the next day's hike. The longest is the most rewarding, but is not marked, so we would have to rely on our internal GPS.
After the Father's talk we adjourn to a delicious festive communal meal. During our meal, the door opens and there is Mia! We all applaud and make a space for her at the dinner table. Mia is amazing - she’s 65, short with a big pack, and gets to her destination at the speed that works for her.
DAY 12: 18 km to Santander
This is the best day ever! We watch a beautiful sunrise, enjoy fresh cafe con leche and Father Ernesto sends us on our way. The hospitality here has been so memorably sweet and loving. We walk along the road to Galiziano, pass the church and find the sign for the Playa (beach). WOW! We are at the top of the cliff and have an exhilarating walk along the ocean. Below, we can see where the surfers have climbed down to catch the best waves. The air is so refreshing! And as if the ocean view is not enough, behind us are the Picos de Europa. They are - snow covered mountains that look translucent blue!
After a while, we descend down to the beach where I get caught up in collecting shells. When I finally look up, I see my team has stopped for the much talked about beach day. We change into our suits and run into the cold, cold water. The waves are really strong and Berrie holds onto my hand just so I don't get knocked over. We are having a blast! We take advantage of the first sunny day in days and lay our laundry on the beach to dry. We end the day at a hostel in Santandar.
DAY 13: 24 km to Santillana del Mar
The pilgrim guide book advises us to take the train to the town of Boo to avoid a polluted industrial area. What we don’t know is… there are two Boo’s! We take the train to the wrong Boo which ends up being a longer walk, and we get there during rush hour traffic so the car exhaust is really bad. The entire day is spent walking next to the road. The car exhaust really gets to me and by the time we get to Santillana del Mar, I just want to crash. Santillana del Mar is a world heritage site - as it is a preserved little town with cobblestone streets and cute little shops - a tourist town.
I finish the walk and lay on my bed with a big migraine. A pilgrim next to me asks if I’m okay and I say “No!”. He is from Mexico, and his wife is a doctor and loaded his kit with all kinds of medicine, so he gives me something and I end up feeling well enough that he, Michel, another Mexican who is an architect, and I all go out to dinner together. We agree that only Spanish will be spoken and I’m amazed how well I was able to understand and converse with my limited Spanish.
DAY 14: A Zero Kilometer Day
The kind Mexican pilgrim heads out very early and the migraine comes back with a vengeance. I’m in no shape to go anywhere. Michel goes ahead and we agree to meet up the next day as we have planned a side trip to Potes. I spend a miserable day in the hostel alone, that is until the Hospitelier shows up. She starts yelling at me - telling me that I can’t stay. The rule at the pilgrim hostels is one night per hostel, except in case of illness. She clearly didn’t read that part of the manual! I explain to her that I’m sick and I can’t get out of bed. She tells me she will be back at 4pm - for what I am not sure!
Meanwhile, three young German women who we met at Guemes show up. They actually spent two extra days at Guemes due to foot blisters. Guemes is one of the few pilgrim hostels that operates from with real love, truly supports the pilgrims in every way and encourages us to follow our hearts. I find out that today there is a general strike and consequently there is no public transportation and all the stores are closed. I can’t get anything to eat or go anywhere anyway. At 4 pm I’m still not better and the Hospitelier realizes I’m not leaving, so I pay for another night. The German women find me some coffee, give me some bread, and I enjoy my only meal of the day.
Looking forward to a better tomorrow.