A Series of Fortunate Events

Did you ever think about all the things that had to happen first, so that any one particular event would or could occur?

Sunday Sept 1, 2019
Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado
22.5 km, 35,000 steps, walking day #11

The camino guide book basically said to "be prepared for a bleak walk today".
Wide path, no shade, no water, and a lot of today would be walking beside the highway it said.
Never say never is what I replied.

Breakfast was available at 7:00 am. Bonus! An earlier start to the day.

Charcouterie tray on the breakfast bar

The concierge walked me to the door of the hotel and pointed me on my way.
The sky was overcast but I was confident it wouldn't rain. And besides which, all my rain gear was in my luggage, so it couldn't rain.

My hotel was a bit off the camino. I didn't take the shortcut to an easy access point back on track. I never do that. Rather, I walk back to where I had left the path the afternoon before. I want to be able to say that I walked every step of the camino.

I was happy to walk on an easy, dirt and gravel path, under overcast skies and through crisp air. The simple path gave me time to enjoy the rolling landscape of yellow fields of cut grain, and green fields of green beans.

A local man surveying his realm from the balcony of a public park

I took my time walking, stopping to look back at the view behind me, and stopping often to take pictures.

While passing a field of sunflowers today, I got a weird feeling. Was I being watched? Were the sunflowers somehow smiling at me??

Here's what I saw:

Someone had adopted a whole new substrate for graffiti...Sunflower heads!
They were creating pictures, words and symbols by picking out sunflower seeds.
We enjoyed the creativity, but we were sure the farmers did not. But really - it was only done to the sunflowers in the row closest to our path. Practically harmless in the grand scheme of things. And so funny.

Today I thought about all the sounds of the camino.
Here's some of the things I've been listening to:
Crowing roosters when I'm walking early in the morning
Dogs barking on far away farms
Water flowing through the aqueducts that run beside the path
The quick rustle of the hedgerow when a field mouse jumps away from my feet
The call of a bird of prey while its circling above, looking for that field mouse
The pod, pod, pod of the rubber tips of my walking sticks
The tak tak, tak, of the metal tips on other people's walking sticks
The clomp, clomp, clomp of someone walking downhill, heavily in their hiking boots (oh, the wear and tear on the joints!)
The pleasant crunch of shoes on gravel
The air horn of a truck acknowledging a pilgrim
The punk rock being broadcast out of one young man's backpack
The droning Gregorian chants being broadcast out of a young woman's backpack

There was a family event taking place in a little town called Villamayor. A large group of people of all ages were dressed in festive clothes and they were in great spirits as they gathered in the street. I chanced upon this family group at the exact moment that a beautiful woman with the most stunning earrings crossed the street right in front of me. I stopped her to tell her what beautiful earrings she had on. She was very pleased. Her husband translated that she told me she bought them at a festival last year. We had a short but lovely conversation, then they wished me bueno camino and we both continued on our paths for the day.

I stopped a stranger to compliment her on her earrings

I walked on, towards the main intersection of town, and I arrived there at the exact moment that a parade celebrating Santo Domingo de la Calzada turned from a side street onto main street (Calle Mayor). There were dancers in costume, a small band, 4 men carrying a statue of Santo Domingo and finally a small procession of townspeople. The parade continued for a few blocks then entered the church.

A number of pilgrims had stopped to watch the parade, and we ended up all leaving Villamayor at the same time. About 5 of us walked together and we talked and got to know each other a bit. At about 1:00 pm we were all hungry and tired, and of course just when we needed it, a restaurant appeared. We all took a break.

I was ready to go before the others, so I said goodbye and began the last part of my journey for the day. There was about 5 km to go and I was looking forward to some time just listening to whatever sounds nature was offering. Wouldn't you know it, but someone began to walk right behind me and he was whistling. I decided to leave him behind, so I sped up to my training speed. He was soon too far behind me for me to hear him, but the rhythm felt good so I maintained the speed. After a few kilometers I caught up with a group of people I had never seen before. A man, a woman and two little girls. They were all wearing backpacks, and they all had scallop shells swinging from the packs. These little girls were pilgrims! They were all singing, and dancing and laughing as they walked. It was enchanting. I asked them if I could take their picture, and we got to talking. Parents Helen and Herraldo, 9 year old Mina and 6 year old Candela. She will be 7 in a few weeks. Helen and Herraldo did the camino together before they had their girls, and last year they began taking the girls on 5 day trips. They can manage 10 km per day. I had the joy of walking the last km of my day with this loving family.

They told me they would think of me on Sept 29th, the day I finish my camino in Santiago

When I meet a local, I take the opportunity to ask all those burning questions that have been floating around my mind. 

Herraldo provided these answers: 

Yes, people do eat those snails that stick to the stalks on the side of the road.

Yes, those sunflowers are grown mostly for oil production, but Spanish people like to eat the seeds for snacks, too.

If I hadn't had an early breakfast, if I hadn't stopped to watch the parade, if I had left a few minutes earlier after lunch and didn't need hurry to leave the whistling pilgrim behind, I wouldn't have walked faster and I wouldn't have met these people.

So many "If I hadn't then I wouldn't haves", so many "If I had then I wouldn't haves", and those are only the ones that we realize. It boggles the mind.

I decided to have more than just tapas for dinner so I hunted around Belorado for a restaurant. I found one with a sign that said it opened at 6:00. Such a bonus. Most restaurants don't open until 7:30 or 8:00 for dinner and that's really just too late for a pilgrim. It was 6:05. The door was locked. Arrghh. I walked around but didn't find a place to my liking. I thought I'd try that door one more time. By this time it was 6:20. I walked back to that restaurant, and the door was open! I was saved.

I was enjoying my red bean soup (with sausage - a meal in itself),

when one of the men I had been walking with entered the restaurant. I invited him to sit with me.
Deklin McDermott is a semi-retired accountant from Ireland. He's a well-travelled, well-spoken man with a well-informed world view and a great sense of humor.

This was a very, very nice day, in spite of what the guide book said.
Was it good fortune? Was it good timing? Was it fate? Are there such things?
I leave you to ponder.