I have been silent here because finally, we are with other pilgrims and just living in the moment. I have many pictures but not many clever phrases, because we have just been enjoying our time.
We have spent the past few days with Michael and Fabian, with other new friends coming and going. Michael and Katie both like rising early (before 6 am) and walking, so they have walked together more. I need my beauty sleep, so I have been waking later in the morning (7am) and walking with Fabian. If there are cafes and rest spots, we usually catch up with Michael and Katie.
I already serenade Katie frequently. In fact, I've been singing Rolling on the River to her since Porto (RIP Tina Turner).
Fabian keeps trying to imitate my southern accent, but he's actually much better at mimicking Shakira (if you can't keep up with one queen, try another). I don't remember how, but a song Fabian, Katie, and I keep singing is Milkshake.
My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they're like, it's better than yours
Damn right it's better than yours
I can teach you, but I have to charge
Michael says he is not good with remembering lyrics, but after a full day of us serenading him, he exclaimed, "The milkshake, I know! It is in your yard. It is good!" And now, we all yell "it is good!" randomly throughout the day.
When Katie says, “wait where’s Michael?”
Fabian is unceasingly positive, and keeps reminding us all that "life is a journey" or "life is like a river...sometimes the water is rough and sometimes it is still." And in completely serious moments, he will tell us, "you know, life is a journey," and Michael will pipe in, "yes, and I hear sometimes it is like a river!"
I have been in Portugal for over three weeks now, and there hasn't been a drop of rain. But now we are getting closer to Galicia (the rainy region of Spain), and there has been rain on the forecast for several days. All of us almost made it to Ponte de Lima before a downpour happened. Fabian and I experienced a beautiful downpour in a lovely walkway with gorgeous tall trees, by the river and a beautiful bridge.
We paused for lunch and then crossed the beautiful bridge to the albergue.
Katie, on the other hand...experienced a flood, of water and children. Her, Michael, and their new friend Carolina had arrived at the albergue right before Fabian and I called it quits for lunch. They hadn't eaten lunch, the albergue wasn't open yet, and then the rain suddenly hit. They ran across the street to stand under some umbrellas at a restaurant...a Michelin star restaurant. And a flood of school children rushed to join them. As the pilgrims were distracted by the children, their backpacks started getting slogged with a wave of water...
By the time Fabian and I left lunch, it was sunny again. We arrived at the albergue with full stomachs and dry gear. To meet our friends with wet backpacks and empty bellies...so when they suggested we go to the Michelin restaurant for dinner...we had to agree. It would've been rude not to.
The view from our albergue room, gorgeous.
The next day, we expected more rain. The weather report said to expect it by noon. We had our ponchos at the top of our backpacks, and hoped to make it to our next stop before the path became too muddy. Today was probably the steepest incline on this Camino so far, but the whole day was gorgeous. We're finally having less time walking on the road, and more time walking through vineyards.
After 18.5 km, Fabian and I caught up with Katie and Michael at an albergue that many people planned to stop at for the day. We had originally planned to stop there but had a backup hostel reserved 5 km farther, just in case. The sun was shining and everyone was feeling good, so we decided to walk the extra 5 km. William, a man from Venezuela, had joined Katie and Michael. Michael stood up and looked at the sun. "Let me just say, fuck the weather report!" he said, clacking his trekking poles down for emphasis.
We laughed. Not 10 min into the walk, Katie got shit on her leg. Literal shit. "It's just horseshit," Fabian said.
"Oh, just horseshit," Katie said sarcastically.
"That means luck," William said.
"Hey guys, I got shit on my leg. It’s lucky!" Katie said.
Fabian and Michael walked ahead, while Katie and I walked leisurely chatting with William. He was walking much farther, to Valença today, so he would not be staying in the hostel with us.
We arrived at our reservation and chatted with the some other pilgrims who were also going farther. When we were finally able to check into our room at 5pm, we were greeted with...a very dingy room that was 20€ each...surprisingly expensive for a hostel.
Once again, we are the only four in a hostel. Everybody else stayed somewhere else. And from what we've learned, any other albergue option was better.
Phrases we've all said today are...
"Does your bathroom have any soap?"
"Is the toilet flushing?"
"They don't have any water for sale, just lemonade."
"That was a firework, not a gun, trust me, I'm a redneck." (Okay, that one was me.)
But it's okay, they have cold beer...(and hot water, unlike our school room albergue).
This hostel is so far from any food that we had to take a taxi back to our original albergue stop to eat at a restaurant...where we saw our other pilgrim friends. They said their albergues are all very nice, even the one we almost stayed in.
I am blogging right now to the sound of Fabian and Michael trying to teach Katie German words. It's going...real well...
At dinner, I told them about a hilarious meme, that says the German word for birth control is "antibabypillen."
They both were completely straight faced.
"Yeah, antibabypillen. That's what we call it," Fabian said.
"Right!" Michael added. "I mean, it's not the medical term, but it's what we call it."
Katie and I about fell out of our chairs laughing.
"German has to be the most direct language ever," Katie said. "And please, make fun of Americans too. We're not trying to be assholes."
"Oh Fabian keeps asking which cousin I'm in love with," I told her.
"Because you're southern?" She asked, dying of laughter again.
I promise you, my milkshake doesn't bring any of my cousins into my yard.
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