16 km. Chilly with light to moderate rain most of the day. Gentle hills only, alternating between coastal and inland walks.
Had a slow start. Woke up a bit flat. Was feeling frustrated about, 1) the delays due to the mid-layer, 2) leg pain that interrupted my sleep in the night, and 3) the decent amount of cold rain forecasted on and off for the next two weeks. I went down to meet Claudia for breakfast, and another pilgrim that Claudia had met previously, Eva from Germany, joined us. When I told Claudia I was going to have to stay behind go to the sports store, Eva immediately spoke up to say she had a meeting (a follow-up on a PhD thesis she just completed), so she would start later, too, and would wait for me. Then Claudia said she wasn’t in a hurry and would accompany me to the sports store.
Unknowingly, they had just become my angels of the day, because they prevented me from walking alone and taking the time to feel sorry for myself. The universe was telling me to just go buy the darn mid-layer, take my anti-inflammatory, put on the rain gear (I don’t even mind the rain), and keep walking. We set out at around noon.
The first 6 or 7 km was pretty slow. We stopped at a couple bakeries to get snacks for the road, meandered slowly through the coastline taking photos, had a long chat with Dennis and Rita from Texas (whom Claudia had walked with several days ago), stopped for second breakfast coffee, then…
Eva spotted what she thought might be a cow with a newborn calf. We stopped to look and sure enough, that’s what it was! The cow was licking the little guy and he was trying to stand. We stopped to watch, anxious for his (her?) success. I have 14 videos of failed attempts. At first, he could not get up on any legs. He would start to rise, then plop over. Then he could get up on his hind legs, but couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with the front legs, and his butt would eventually plop over.
The owner of the cows drove up while we were watching. He got out of his car and also approached the fence to watch. Apparently, he had not expected the calf to be born just then, and a neighbor had called to tell him. He explained to Claudia that the mother is not cleaning him when she licks, but rather stimulating him and motivating him to stand and walk. Finally, the calf got up on all fours and took a couple of tottering steps to his mom to start having some milk. We all had big smiles and were feeling so fortunate to have seen it.
We ran into Dennis and Rita again shortly after that, and the five of us walked together for the last couple hours. It was mellow and enjoyable. Today was Claudia’s last day walking. She needed to catch a train in Villahormes to start making her way back home. I decided to stop and get some food with her while she waited for her train. While we ate, the rain picked up. My leg was a bit sore anyway, so I found and booked a room a little over a km away in Hontoria. It is off the Camino, but I can take another route to join up tomorrow.
The place I am staying is very rural and very lovely. Their restaurant is closed right now (off season), but they offered to make me dinner. The food was local and fresh and healthy. I had had a diet of primarily croissants today, so was very grateful.
Photos from the day:
Almost there…
Success!
At least with the rain it’s not too hot! Imagine doing all the walking in the tropics ugh. It looks beautiful and you’re making some great friends ❤️