Day 33 - Tosantos to Agés - August 17

Day 33 - Tosantos to Agés - August 17

Walked out of the albergue this morning to a dawn muted by some small clouds and the sound of roosters welcoming the day. At breakfast I had a lengthy conversation with a Spanish man who spoke no English. One of the things we discussed is my confusion over the terms for sunrise and sunset. Sunrise is "salida del sol" and sunset is "puesta del sol." I always think of the word salida as exit and salir as to leave. But apparently salir can also mean to emerge. So I think it is cemented in my brain now. 

Then as I was walking I started thinking about the terms "sunrise" and "sunset," just as we know the earth is not flat, we know the sun doesn't actually rise or set. We spin in circles so that we see it and then we don't. So maybe a new term is needed, like sun appearance and sun disappearance. I wonder who I should consult about this.

Well while I was in these deep and important thoughts we passed another group of drunken young people. They were down they block though, so they were paying us no attention. One of the young German lads said, "The Spanish are weird, they stand in the street in the early morning getting more drunk." I told him it was still the night before to them. Apparently this holiday which is the celebration of Mary's Assumption is celebrated with dance music and partying. It started around August 12 and goes until tomorrow, the 18th. Tomorrow I will be in Burgos where I will spend two nights in a hotel and do some sight seeing. I'm afraid I'm going to be lonely without 8 to 16 people sleeping in the room with me. 

Actually the Spanish I have seen drink at all times of the day. John and I saw some truck drivers and construction guys at the truck stop by where we were living having several brandy an coffees with there breakfast, wine is served with pretty much anything you eat. But, with the exception of the drunken young people, I've never seen a drunk Spaniard. 

A while later we arrived at Villafranca Montes de Oca, where I stayed last year in an albergue built onto a hotel which was converted to a hotel from the historic Bospital de la Reina which hosted about 18,000 pilgrims a year in the 17th century. 

After that we climbed and climbed and climbed up very steep hills until I thought I was going to bump my head on the clouds. Then of course we went down, then back up. To totally wipe us out we then went about five miles on this wide, what looked like a logging road between two forests, rocky as heck so I had to keep my eyes on the ground to avoid a sprained ankle or knee. It was mind numbing. At some point I realized I was doing a zombie walk and my iPod had hit a slow song patch. Oh and did mention it was hot with bright sun and no shade. So anyway I switched my iPod to the fast song playlist and booked it with poles in time with the music. It turns out I could have walked on a trail along side the forest on the left. I saw the trail but I didn't know if it would reconnect with where we were supposed to be according to the yellow arrows. I didn't want to get lost in a forest. 

Well I made to the next pueblo a d had som lunch. I walked another two and a half miles and came to Agés and a lovely albergue with vegetarian dishes and a big Buddha statue in the hallway. I always end up where I am supposed to be. It is so amazing. The proprietor, Maria, is a loving hugging fun lady we had a long conversation about kids grand kids, men, and other stuff. I'm getting so much better at conversations. It's unbelievable. 

She has a guy that works for her that is a riot. He's so funny. He had the whole dining room in an uproar. I had dinner with Nina (Hancock's mom,) and a French couple and what they called their spiritual son. The woman spoke a little English, her husband spoke non the spiritual son spoke a little Spanish, Nina is German and speaks English pretty well.  It was an interesting dinner conversation. Then Maria comes up and starts philosophizing in Spanish (she speaks no English) and I'm translating. Incredible!! The French woman was shocked to learn that most kids in the US take Spanish in school, not French. lol The French really have a hard time believing everyone doesn't speak French. 

Michael's wife is on a plane to Madrid at the moment and will join him in Burgos. Then they are going to walk small stages for a few days before heading home. So I won't see him again after Burgos, but hopefully I will get to meet his wife. 

Well it's time for sweet dreams.