Day 15: Itero de la Vega- Fromista (15 km)

Another shorter day, but we are slowly adding length back. Tomorrow I think we will go 18 and then catch a bus closer to Leon.

Today is was colder, cloudier, and windier. Usually it breaks in the afternoon, but it didn´t today. There might be some rain tomorrow :(

The walk was pretty flat and uneventful today except for some geese and following a canal for a while.

We are in a government alburgue tonight with no kitchen, but it seems pretty nice. We are with a friend we met our first night on the trail- it´s always fun to run back into people you know. We liked being alone last night, but it was a bit lonely as well.

Two things I wanted to talk about, stop me if I´ve mentioned this already. . .

1. I love the simplicity of being on the trail. All day we talk about what to eat for lunch and dinner and where to go to the bathroom. In the evening we tend our wounds, stretch, find/make food, and sleep. It´s lovely to have almost all your energy go to these basic necessities.

2. I love to watch and be a part of the ¨sizing up¨that occurs when 2 pilgrims meet. There are some basic questions you ask to figure out who is the superior pilgrim: ¨Where did you start?¨ Pamplona? - oh I started in Poland. ¨How long have you been on the trail?¨Two weeks? Oh I´ve been walking 6 months. ¨How far are you going today? ¨ 20 km? Oh I´m going 45km.

It´s fun to be a part of. It´s never malicious, but always informative.

One guy in particular was terribly obvious with his motivations. We met Juan in Villafranca when we had taken a half day. He asked where we´d started today ¨oh only 15 km, I walked MUCH further¨then he took a good 10 minutes to show me on his map how much farther he had walked than us. ¨Where are you going tomorrow?¨¨Only 20km? Oh, I am going 40, to Burgos¨ Again with the map to demonstrate what a big difference this was.

Later that night he got very drunk and kept showing us pictures of his ¨coche¨a ¨Yundai (ie Hyundai)¨He kept them tucked in his wallet like the photos you would have of your children, if you´d neglected to have children and instead bought a Hyundai.

Oh for Jess- Today we had 2 more flip flop comments which brings the total to somewhere in the 20s, not as much as I would have thought. And no he has not switched to regular shoes because . . . God only knows. I´m going to stop suggesting it though in hopes that it motivates him. Today he wore gloves for the first time! Woo Hoo!!

Alrighty, that´s all for now from the road. Thanks to all our loyal readers and your loyal comments!!

PS - Mom- David de españa is very different from David de North Caroline. We travelled with both for a while. David from Spain is older, buddhist, on a year break from working with alternative energy, likes to sing. David from NC is young, not buddhist, travelling between years in school, doesn´t sing as often. Both very good people!