The Road to Sahagun and back

I woke up at a fairly decent hour this morning, but wasn't ready and dressed before it was time to go to mass, so I don't get to be saved this week. Alas, I wasn't really in too much of a god-ly mood anyhow. Paddy went ahead without me and I had a nice shower and shaved after a few days. I've started to realize that I don't need to take a shower every day, and I certainly don't need to keep up my every other daily routine of shaving! Not to mention, it's kind of an added bonus to look all scraggly, and then shave and look a lot better! After Paddy got back we took the car out to head up the Camino to see where Una had wandered off to. Between here and St. Nicolas there is an area of hills that she will run off into and literally spend hours chasing after rodents unseen. More often than not she catches things though. Not long after we left she came trotting up next to the car so we picked her up and went the rest of the way to St. Nicolas. The bar/restaurant there, Barrunta, was open, so we stopped by and had a gin and tonic, which much to my delight is gin tonic in Spanish. I may have to forgo martinis as my favorite drink for these. I'll get hassle from the Case kids, because they don't like gin, but hey, that means I don't need to buy as much because I don't have to share with anyone! After our drink we came home and Paddy made some bean and sausage soup which we had for lunch. I was planning to walk into Sahagun, so I figured it might be a good idea to eat something seeing as all I'd put into my stomach was coffee and the G&T from earlier. I got my bag, camera, sunglasses, and borrowed Paddy's hat and set off on the Camino with Una in tow. I swear that dog is like the Energizer Bunny. Sebastien was just returning from his weekend out on the Camino as I was leaving, and had found a new walking stick that he brought home and decorated later in the evening. The day was magnificently clear, so I got some really nice shots of the mountain ranges that you can see off to the North. Also took some excellent pictures of the Camino and the landscapes between Moratinos and Sahagun on my way there and back. When I got into town I checked to see if German's signal was turned on, no luck. So I headed to the Cafe Zentral, and tied the dog up outside near the square. I went in and bought an hour worth of time for a Euro, and was even surprised to see I was able to plug in my memory stick. Much to my chagrin however, I forgot to save my Blogger posts in a Word Doc format from OpenOffice, so I wasn't able to open/post them. To add to this, the dog kept barking at people and other dogs outside, so I had to go out and calm her down. I called Paddy and he and Sebastien came and took her home so I could finish looking some things up. Coming back into he cafe, the woman who runs the bar was trying to say something to me in Spanish, and I didn't understand. I was able to convey that much to her, and so she kept saying it slower and louder – I thought “God, yet another universal faux pas... foreigners will understand if you speak slower and yell.” Note to self, never do that again. Eventually she just set me up. I think, based on her body language that she was telling me I'd have to wait for a computer because she thought that the kids that were there earlier were still using them. She walked over and realized they weren't and didn't say anything more. I talked to Danielle for a bit on Google Talk, and sent some emails. Rigmarole. I left the bar and went to grab some bread from around the corner and a bottle of water before heading back to Moratinos. I got back in relatively good time (10km in about an hour and a half) and while I was tired I certainly didn't feel bad after doing 20k round trip. A couple more good long hikes before I start the Camino from the beginning, and I think I'll be able to make it through a 25-30km day with no real problems other than exhaustion. I'm so excited to get started. When I got home I changed, and while I was in my room someone rang the doorbell. A couple of pilgrims from Hungary had found their way to our house somehow after being sent to Moratinos to see James by an alburgue owner in an earlier town. James wasn't here, and we're still not sure how they found us as we're on the other side of Moratinos and not directly off the Camino. They were a nice couple, Miklos and Enico. He spoke some English, and she some Spanish so talking was interesting to say the least bu manageable. Sebastien made us all dinner – spaghetti. And we made a couple of sauces, one with meat for us, and then pesto for them being veggies. What is it with all the vegans? The sauce Sebastien made was really good, but he mistook dried hot peppers for paprika, and added a lot of it, so it was relatively spicy pasta sauce. Something new everyday! Not long after dinner they headed to bed, and shortly after so did Paddy. Sebastien and I are hanging out now in the kitchen, he decorating his stick, and me sketching some ideas out for a project I'm thinking of taking on – a plaster carving in the hall of the main house where the ceiling seems to have a lot of extra. I'd mentioned it to Rebekah, saying that Paddy should do something, being an artist, but she told me if I wanted to do it to go ahead. I didn't think I could, but as I get more ideas I'm becoming more eager to give it a shot. Nothing extravagant, but something nice that I think will add to the good “ju ju,” as Reb calls it (sp?), that I get being here.