Day 16 of the Via de la Plata:

Day 16 of the Via de la Plata:

The first week on the Camino South of Salamanca was very hot, once 11:00am came the temperatures started becoming a little unbearable in some cases. I found myself continuing whilst the sun increased in temperature I was drinking around 4 liters of water during the day to keep hydrated, carrying the water was the hardest part for me as it is always the heaviest, I would carry 2 and resupply where I could. I enjoyed walking through the heat of the day seeing the areas that I past through in complete silence, Passing through the towns and villages in the area of Extremadura at siesta time felt like apocalyps had hit the earth, with the odd dog barking, leaves that had fallen from the tree’s symbolizing the the start of autumn, golden coloured leaves dancing in the wind like a miniature tornado, around and around with no place to go, it was a bizarre feeling passing those places that seemed so empty and still. In some parts of Extremadura you walk kilometers without passing through any settlement it was great to be walking along in those conditions taking in the beauty of the region where wind carried this stillness of apocalypse.

“silence is a powerful  tool”

One guy died on the Camino last year 2016, just outside a village called Castilblanco de los Arroyos. He was a 46 years old man, the guy had been walking in temperatures of 46 degrees and I guess his time was up, a very sad story, I came across his memorial halfway up  a hill, I wondered about his life and loved ones, what his life might of been like, his character, who he was, and who he left behind,perhaps empty without him. His number was up and that was that, bless his soul, a strange moment past me in that time,a sense of loss, a emptiness came into my thoughts and feelings with no direction to life.

“Heavy but what I write is what I experience some have asked me, take me on your journey, create a blog!  so I write for you”

I have been hearing a few stories lately of people who have pushed their boundaries and have suffered for it. Taking a few rest days and popping along to the doctors with different injuries. Like I said in my last post, “it’s a walk” But to push yourself or to go ill prepared then that is your choice.

I walked 50km one day because I ran into an area where it was just  field after field. The crops had been harvested, so I was faced with plowed fields. In the summer months it would be a lot different having the sunset and rise over the crops watching the colours change with the time of day, a good photo opportunity for those who are in love with the click of a camera, not the click click click of the phone.

A while back I had run out of money and had been looking for a A.T.M machine, but kept running into a lot of very kind people, I got talking to them for one reason or another. They invited me into their homes to spend the night and to join them for dinner, not because I gave them some sort of sob story, they never knew I had run out of money, they just decided to invite me into their homes to be friendly I guess.

I had one lady pass me in her car, she slowed down and asked if I was looking for a hostel as she owned one. The price was €20, I thanked her but told her I only had five so I will be on my way. For that moment she just looked at me and I thought to myself “what” she said okay but don't tell anyone ! With that a smile was created across my face as I got into her car and again thanked greatly. She asked me about what I was going to eat for dinner, I replied tonight nothing tomorrow is a new day. That night she prepared dinner for me telling me again to keep quiet.

“For sure I have been very lucky throughout my travels someone somewhere is truly looking out for me and my 9 lives were used long ago”

I have had a lot of good fortune on this journey, walking is a truly amazing experience. I found myself walking a few times at night, just for a different experience,I would wake up and start walking until sunrise and more, having the stars fall around me taking note of the star constellations was magic, a great time for reflection in many areas of life. “ I wish you could all experience that feeling “walking” Amongst the night without the need of a torch looking upwards”  Or even just walking in the day without the need of a car to go 100 yards or 500 yards or more. I know the ones who are unable to walk in life would agree with me greatly.

“As the stars fell I took one wish, the rest were not mine to ask for, why take more than I need”

I finally ended up in a village where I really was in need for money, I had to catch a bus asking the bus driver to let me off the fair as I had no money, I made it to the next village around 12km off the Camino, where I had been told there was a A.T.M machine but I found it to be out of order when I got there. I had to walk back the 12km, before I left the village I popped in to a shop, where I asked the shop owner if she would accept card for the supplies I needed, knowing that was going to be very doubtful, “and for sure I was right” But she gave me a large baguette and a drink for free that kept me going  till the end of the following day where I was tablehen  to withdraw cash.

The camino for me: it’s a strange feeling to be walking 1000km to a destination, there is something truly special about being able

to walk from place to place, meeting different people,seeing the country change as I walk deeper north into the country where many footsteps have been before me, dating back from Roman times and possibly more, it gets your mind thinking how they constructed the way, the brains behind it and the manpower to create it along with the materials used.

After a while you start to feel each pebble underfoot as the kilometres start to clock up during the day, you start to search and scan the ground for the flattest part of the Camino, it becomes quite an art looking in front for that ground that will be kind to your feet.

After walking a good number of hours you may come up to a brow of a hill and just the other side a town, city or village starts to show it’s face. It’s strange walking up to society. Graffiti starts to pop up, may be a old run down house, a motorway bridge that you may have to pass under  to reach the town, more plastic waist appears from more ignorance and lack of respect. The sound of humans,the beep of the car horns, smog and more enters your vision, then your senses change to a more urban element that will hopefully see you through this part of the journey, the bars, restaurants and shopping centres call for your pocket to open until you reach the other side of the tunnel. It’s a journey that is hard to describe in so few words.

The temperatures at night have changed a lot now that I am approaching far north. The mornings are fresh and nights cold in this month. I have been covering a great deal of ground over the last 16 days but something is now telling me to slow down for a reason. I do not know why just yet. May be I am at the end of my journey or may be there is something that is coming my way. I don't know what it is and I can't really put my finger on it right now, but times are strange and I just have to go with what I am picking up on.

Is it all coming to an end.