The four of us walked together for the whole day, including the 17km stretch without any towns. I think every one of us peed outside at least once.
After the long stretch with nothing, we finally got to the small town of Calzadilla de la Cueza where we stopped to eat. There was a store that had a sign with a picture of a frapuccino (amongst other images of items proclaimed to be sold in the store), but when I asked, she said they had no way to make those. So now, all I want in life is a frapuccino that I can't have. That's a lie. But it will be so satisfying when I can have one again. So please, drink one in my honor. Xoxo
We continued on. I directed the gang through the alternate route that, although 1.6km longer, was supposed to go through forest and be prettier than walking on a dirt path along the road. It didn't exactly go through the forest. More like teasingly on the outside of one. It did, however, go through lots of flying bugs that had an affinity for my mouth, nostrils, and eyes. Oh, the pleasantries of the alternate route! :-)
It was fine. Since I questioned where we were going (alternate route not waymarked), I had my guidebook in my hand for all 5.4km which was nice because it doubled as a bug fan. I could feel my boots giving me some nice blisters on the tops of my pinky toes again, so I got ahead to stop and change for Tevas. Learning to rock Tevas and socks.
We made it to the intermediate town for some coffee, beer, bathroom, and wifi (four most common reasons for a pilgrim to go into a bar). We stayed there for a good while. I popped my two blisters. After an hour of rest, we continued on one last small stretch.
We arrived to our destination town of Terradillos de los Templarios. It is a small farming town, as most are here in the Meseta. Only two albergue options, and we picked the first one we saw. It was a tough day.
Once settled in our dorm, we each went off and did our thing. I ate a chorizo omelette on half a baguette and worked on my blogs. Later, Father Stanley passes me by (did I mention he's doing the pilgrimage?) to invite me to a mini-mass he would do on the patio outside. It was sunny and nice out. We all sat in red platic chairs around a red plastic table that was covered by a white paper table cloth, a white napkin, an iPhone 6, a clear wine glass with read wine in it, a basket of pieces of baguette, and a gatorade bottle of water. Welcome to communion.
Father Stanley performed mass using his iPhone for liturgy notes. He even lead us in a few songs. During the Eucharist (communion), Carmen, a lovely, tall, blond pilgrim from the U.S. sang a beautiful song communion-related.
At the end he asked me to go for my uke and play for everyone some "Christian songs", but I politely declined. Still a little unseasoned on the uke.
I showered and did laundry later than I usually would. I drank out of the spigot as I filled the basin to wash my clothes. We do that here in Spain. The fountains here. You'll notice locals drinking straightnout of the fountains. But they're not like our fountains in the states. They're more like faucets. And I do it sometimes, too. But I feel like a monkey when I do. I hung my clothes up although the weather had changed. Sunshine had been exchanged for dark clouds in the warm air. Only an hour later began the thunder, lightning, and rain. I quickly gathered my clothes off the ground where the wind had strewn them. I had to dry my clothes on my bunk that night.
Afterward, I spent the evening Facetiming with my folks. It was really nice and heart-filling to catch-up with them. I was teary-eyed most of the conversation.
I had a lot of personal concerns on my mind the whole day, but I'm continually reminding myself to submit them to God, focus on Him, and let each day take care of itself.
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