Well last nights dinner was unusual, it had mixed reviews, I think I chose well. 6 of us from different places got together for dinner. It is starting to feel like a little camino family. I had a salad to start, with tuna fish of course (all salads come with tuna for some odd reason), then I had a spinach lasagna. It was so nice to have a vegetable, even one covered in cream sauce with pasta, there was loads of spinach, and for desert I had poached pear in red wine. I really enjoyed the dinners. Others chose fish and got a tiny portion with nothing on the side, the restaurant reviews from the group ranged from best to worst!
Dawn today is having such trouble with her knees she had to taxi today, she was devastated, but I think it was the right choice for her. Others have taken taxis for sections too, and it is worth it to make sure she can do the rest. It was tough to see her so down though.
She picked a good day to skip though. The walk today was 20km all alongside a road!! We did take the scenic detour which meant that about half was along a path further off the road and close to a river, still not very scenic but at least a little better.
Given that is was a short day and everyone seems to be struggling with knees we stopped twice for coffee along the way, so it was a slow social day.
I did have great chat with Sian. She and I have been on similar journeys and were comparing stories and insights. She is a very strong person and Has such an interesting story. It was a really nice to chat. I also have the offer to go and stay in San Diego, so maybe that is a plan for the future.
We stopped at the start of town for a beer and tortilla on arrival. It was actually very funny. As is now the tradition the first in, stops and waits for everyone else. I am not sure whether Andy or Kari were first but they were both settled when I arrived, next was Sian and then George, followed by John and Vivian, then the Spanish guy who we met a few days ago, then Sarah who joined us for dinner last night. We also waved and caught up with other known faces. It is quite amazing how many people you start to recognise.
After an impromptu lunch and making plans for dinner, those of us staying at the monastery on the outskirts of town headed on.
The hotel has been build in part of the monastery, it is incredible. My room is actually a suite with a double bed…I wish I had a few more nights here, I need to make the most of this!! The menu for tonight is not a Pilgrim menu but A la Carte and it looks great. We have just arranged for those not staying here to join us for dinner.
It will be a little odd as our group will split again tomorrow, that is life on the Camino, you meet people for a short time and then move on. A number of us have a slightly shorter scenic route for a few days, others have longer road routes. The net result is that we will end up a day apart, although most of us are planning a rest day in Leon so I can see dinner plans being arrange over the next few days.
I seem to be with the majority, but Andy goes on and so does Sian. I have enjoyed both of their company, but no doubt we will catch up at future points, both are planning to go all the way to Santiago.
I now have joined the majority on the camino being held together with tape!! Apparently walking this distance with a partially torn ACL means there is more instability and strain than there should be. This does actually make sense and perhaps I should have thought about this before coming, but since I have never really had issues, it didn’t cross my mind. The advice is to have this fixed before my next camino!! In the meantime there is tape. Hopefully this makes a difference tomorrow. Still my next few days are quite light so I am planning to make the most of this and get more treatment in Leon if needed. There are so many specialists here to tape you together and get you walking again whether it is knees, ankles, backs, feet you name it they can tape it!!
I have just met up with Dawn for a quick tour of our monastery, it feels really special to be staying here. It was connected with the Order of Cluny dating from the 11th century, the cloisters are incredible and my room is off the second floor cloister! Dawn is still really struggling to walk and she can’t see a physio until Monday, so she may have to taxi again tomorrow but she seems more positive and hopeful which is good.
