Meeting More Marks

Daylight savings time kicked in late last night. I was a little disoriented this morning when I woke to see that it was already past 8 a.m.  That, at least, is what my watch said. My immediate thought was that I would miss the pickup time for my baggage. I looked at my phone and it showed that it was slightly after 7 a.m. – I was on schedule.  Fortunately, it turned out that the phone was correct. When I synced up my equipment, the time switched on my watch. That was about the most challenging thing I encountered for the day.

At breakfast, I lingered when another traveler entered. His name is Mark, as well. When I asked him if it was spelled correctly, he said, “Absolutely, M-A-R-Q-U-E.”  I knew he was pulling my leg, but it was a good joke.

We discovered some similar life experiences. He is a retired colonel from the Air Force who completed a full career. My Air Force career only lasted seven years when I satisfied my commitment for pilot training. We shared gratitude for the training and opportunities our time and service afforded.

He is a farm boy from four hours west of Denver, CO. I grew up in the suburbs of New York. He went to the Air Force academy and I attended university on an ROTC scholarship. I was a pilot and he did super-secret stuff in the development of weapons and aircraft. He cannot discuss, and I would never ask, about any of his experiences. The one question I did ask was if he rode the white airplanes that flew out of Las Vegas airport.  They would run on a schedule from Las Vegas to a closely guarded base out in the desert. Nobody asked where they were going and no reference was ever made on the radios as to their destination.

We tried to connect some people that we knew in the Air Force. I'm not sure we nailed it down but I think we got close on a few individuals. It's a huge organization and we were separated by a few years. Still, it's not too big to have crossed paths with the same people.

Mark and I set out together across the city to rejoin the Camino. We moved through the tourist area and passed the old church. Across the street from that church they were setting up a flower market. Almost immediately after that there were a huge number of other hikers. Groups of two, eight, and as many as 30 people were all heading out on the same trail. It is a holiday weekend and possibly some of them were just day hikers.

All of a sudden the atmosphere of the Camino had shifted. Conversations were loud and people were walking eight abreast across the trail. The energy had changed from a quiet journey to some sort of group picnic.  About 20 minutes later, we caught up with Dave.

The crowds thinned a little the further we got from the city. The new issue to contend with was bicycles that came flying by without warning. We were probably passed by more than 50 bicyclists today. If six of them rang a bell or shouted out a warning or a salutation, it was a lot. It is their journey and they have every right to be on the trail. It just changed the feeling from a quiet country lane to a major thoroughfare.

On the plus side, the weather and scenery were both excellent, with absolutely no rain and temperatures in the mid-60s. Almost all of today's journey was on trails with great surfaces. There was very little cobblestone and not much time on roads. 

It was another fairly short day, so we only took one break. The place was incredibly crowded and loud. It was important to get on our way and back to some quiet.

I stopped in front of what appeared to be a deserted building to remove the bottom part of my zip-away pants. Immediately I felt more comfortable and we moved back down the trail. A hundred yards later I discovered I had left my trekking poles leaning up against the steps. By the time I got back to them, an older woman was waving them in the air. I'm not sure if she was making sure I saw her so I could recover them, or if she was angry that I left them leaning up against the front of her house. Either way, I thanked her profusely, retrieved my equipment, and caught up with Mark and Dave.

One of the topics we discussed was how on the day prior we were encouraged to take the alternate route because of the flooded trail. Mark had decided to take the river trail anyway. He reported that it wasn't too bad. There was just one section where all the runoff collected at a municipal train, and that was pretty wet.

The town of Caldas de Reyes is known for their hot springs. I had no plans to visit any of the tourist destinations in town, as I was eager to get to the hotel and pursue my normal routine. 

For the last four nights, since entering Galicia, pillows are presented as one long pillow, instead of two separate units. I'm not sure how this would work with more than one person in the bed.

Dinner was solid. Dave and Mark had steak, and I had chicken breast. Lots of protein on the plate. I also picked octopus as an appetizer to share with the table. It was Mark's first experience with pulpo. His verdict was that it was okay. It was actually pretty delicious.

Tomorrow is another fairly short day. It should be less than four hours of walking. The weather forecast is uncertain, but I don't expect clear skies again. I definitely have gratitude for the day and the company I got to share today. And I'm also grateful that the old woman didn't hit me with (or try to steal) my trekking poles.