Day 29 on the Camino Way

Good Call

We had a decision to make this morning. There were two routes we could take. The one was beside a road, but included walking past and exploring a 1500 year old monastery—St Julian in the village of Samos. The other was the original Camino path that was shorter, had more ups and downs, and was through quiet woods.

We were concerned with the wet rocks on the shorter route. So we asked a local how bad that way could be. She was a staff person at one of the hotels on her way to work. Pointing at the woods path, she said, and I quote, ”You must go that way!” So we did.

And we are so glad we did. It was hard, but the views were stunning again. And we walked through farm land, mostly cattle, sheep, goats, dairy cows, a bull, a Polish guy and his dog. We loved it.

Home Town Thoughts

We talked about our roots, where we grew up in Northwest Iowa. It too was farm country. It didn’t look like this region. NW Iowa is flat and what you see from June on is corn and beans. This country is not like that. It’s hilly and mostly grassland, with beautiful flowing streams of clear water.

But it felt the same. And it smelled the same. There was this earthy smell. I don’t know how to explain it, but it smelled like home. Of course there were dairies that we walked by and they smell like, well, you know.

But that’s not a bad smell to people like us. It’s familiar and it’s how Sally’s family was fed and clothed. Sally took the pictures of the cows and the donkey and the goats. She walked through manure to do so, and Sally does not like getting dirty. She’s fussy—that’s what her mom told me before we were married. ”Marcella is fussy. You need to know that.” But today was a day to remember Dad and Mom and cows and cow manure and the good of it all. It was a good day to think about home.

”These cows are just like my Dad’s.” Dad’s been gone a long time, but today Dad was with us on the road. It was a good day to remember our roots.

Buen Camino!