In this Blog, I return to the Camino de Santiago de Compostella, resuming the story of my departure from Castrojeriz.
On Saturday 27th of April 2013, I met Eamon and Paticia in the albergue at Tardajos. I had planned to have a big day of walking that day and this meant I needed to start walking very early. I walked from Tardajos to Poblacion de Campos – a distance of 30 kilometres, all of which I crossed by walking with no company except for the guiding light of the Moon in the early hours of the day. There were very few facilities in the albergue at Problacion and the day was bitterly cold. I shivered inside my sleeping bag – and even then I was still cold.
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Although it was before dawn when I started, the Moon was full and it was bright – bright enough to show me the Way.
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The Moon was behind me when I took this photo on the 27th of April 2013. I did not use a flash to help the camera take this shot.
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For much of my trek on the 27th, the Camino followed waterways. I took this photo just as dawn was happening.
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The Moon still gave me company even after daybreak. This photo shows the approach to a very high hill which I had to walk up before I could go down.
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I took this photo from the top of the high hill outside Castrojeriz; dawn had happened, so I could see where the Camino was about to take me. On that Saturday, I walked every portion of the track shown in this photo.
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Although it was no longer dark, it was still very early in the day when I took these two photos.
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I took this photo after I had left Itero de la Vega, a village where no cafes were open to enable me to buy coffee or a snack. It was too early in the day for shops to be open. I stopped and ate a sandwich I had brought in my backpack.
This is the stretch of the Camino that runs from Fromista to Poblacion de Campos. It ran beside a very busy highway and the walking was boring and hard. Although I was able to find a café selling coffee and snacks in Fromista and I was able to refuel and rest, I did not like the feel of Fromista, so I kept walking. Eamon and Patricia told me later, they stayed in Fromista and Eamon became very ill. Perhaps I was correct to let my instinct override the logic of stopping in a small town rather than walk on to a tiny village.
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Diary Entry Made on Saturday 27 April 2013 at 2:42 pm
I am at an albergue at Poblacion de Campos. I started walking at 6:25 am and got here after a walk of 29.3 kilometres at 1:30 pm. I was completely exhausted when I arrived and I have spent the last hour inside my sleeping bag because of the cold.
I left the albergue at Castrojeriz while it was still dark, guided by the light of the full Moon. The streets and buildings of the village were wet from rain as I set out but there was no rain while I was walking. This was an extremely cold day again and that made the walking much easier. The only rest breaks I had on the way here were at Itero de la Vega (after 11 kilometres of walking) and at Fromista after an additional 14.5 kilometres of walking. This was a big walking day.
This is a very simple albergue in a very quiet town.
Distance Walked Today: 29.3 kilometres.
Total Distance Walked So Far: 332.7 kilometres.
Total Distance Covered So Far: 353.9 kilometres including the 21.2 kilometres by taxi.
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Soul Song Number 17 - Walking With the Moon Along the Canal
(27 April 2013)
Dark clung to the world as you stepped out that morning.
At first you felt uneasy.
How would you know The Way in this World of Shadows?
Pretending confidence, you stepped through the village.
Step after step you moved.
Were you an early morning ghost?
Now the village slipped behind you,
It was unmoved by the lure of the Camino.
The Path stretched ahead,
Crossing an ocean of empty fields.
That is when you noticed you were not alone.
That is when you noticed you had never been alone.
Not that morning anyway.
The Full Moon was lighting your way through the pre dawn dark,
The Moon, beloved symbol of the Goddess, revealed the Path,
Making sure that you didn't go astray.
So you walked with the Moon to the top of the Alto.
Then you walked with the Moon some more,
Until long after daylight had made her help unnecessary.
Enlivened by this special help,
You marched into the day,
Enveloped by the Meseta.
Yes, it was just you and the Moon,
Taking a leisurely walk together through the Meseta.
As the kilometres unrolled,
You came to the Canal,
A long thin body of water stretching across the flat landscape.
Now it was you, the Moon and the Canal,
All enjoying a Saturday Walk together.
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