9/24 Breakfast at Virgin de Guadalupe is buttered toast with marmalade, a small glass of juice, and café con leche. When Thomas asks for a second cup of coffee the owner says no, which upsets Thomas. Such a switch from the owner’s kindness toward Thomas the day before is startling and abrupt. I feel bad and want to comfort Thomas.
The strenuousness of the Camino walk is expressed little by my fellow pilgrims. Sure, blisters are a hot topic of conversation, but the heavy emotional toll this kind of walk creates is for the most part kept internal. I find this lack weighs heavy on me. I’m used to sharing my feelings with friends, but here on the Camino, I don’t find that level of conversation. Thomas is an exception.
Clara and I walk together again. The path parallels a highway for much of the walk. The heat is overwhelming. Soon I’ll be on the Camino for two weeks. Home seems far away in time and space. Access to an airport and getting home seems remote. I feel a type of claustrophobia, maybe homesickness. I try to rid my mind of the reality that I’m not even halfway to Santiago. I’m mad at myself for getting me into this. It’s nothing like I expected. Right now it’s about enduring one day at a time if the heat doesn’t kill me first.
Once we reach Castildelgado we decide to call it a day. We are avoiding the villages that are popular stops in guidebooks which many are following to ensure we have a place to stay. Castildelgado is a village with a population of 80 and only one place to stay. El Chocalatero is a hotel next to the highway. We each get a single room with a bathroom. Clara is distracted with worry about where to print her boarding pass. I’m distracted by my discontentment. A shower and food refresh me.
At dusk, Clara and I go to the empty bar downstairs for a drink. I do enjoy the Spanish non-alcoholic beer and drinking it this evening is a treat. A pair of pilgrims sit down at our table to visit. I suspect the two women are in a relationship with each other, but can’t be sure. The conversation soon lags. I decide to head up to bed early.
I text back and forth with Michelle for awhile. After, I lay awake in bed. Rest is elusive as my mind is winding and won’t let me sleep.