Today was a tough day, physically and emotionally. Hunter and I began the day late, which was admittedly my fault, and passive aggressively bickered all the way out of Alag\u00f3n. We walked in silence for a long time, allowing for a lot of emotions to set in and root deeply into our minds and souls. My sadness brought pain to my entire body, a sensation that is difficult to describe. I struggled to keep pace with Hunter, as he was fueled by frustration and I was being dampered by depression. After some time we sat together by the river and I cried as we explained our feelings and asked one another for forgiveness. I think he understands me better than he ever had before, as memories and emotions came flooding out of me like the Rio Ebro we watched flow by. As we began to wrap up our conversation a kind, gentle, older local drove up from the fork in the road and parked nearby. He came out to see the gorgeous view of the river and ask us about our pilgrimage. Hunter explained our environmental and spiritual interests as the man did not speak English and I was too distraught to comprehend his Spanish, but he insisted on speaking slower to help us both understand, which was very sweet. He told us about the history of the agricultural canal system and wished us a Buen Camino! We continued onward to ______ and stopped in a bar for a bocadillo (a sandwich served on a baguette) and directions. We decided that if the next town was more than 6 km away that we would try to find an albergue, as I had over-adjusted my mochila (backpack) and it was giving me terrible pains in my lower back. The woman working the bar told us that there was only one hostal in the pueblo (town) and it was rather expensive, so she walked Hunter outside and yelled up to the terrace above the bar. The owners of the pension upstairs Pilar and Constantino were surprised to see pilgrims so early in the year and welcomed us happily into their home. Their home was expansive and beautiful, with elaborate religious art on every wall and a separate, conjoined apartment for their son and daughter in law. They showed us out to the terrace and taught us all about the many plants and flowers that Pilar was growing, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lavender, mint, ivy, olives and apples. After a long nap we unfortunately woke up after all of the supermarkets and restaurants had closed, but the miraculous Pilar came to the rescue and made us a hearty, warm meal of a vegetable pur\u00e9e, fried eggs and bread. I’ve been writing down instructions and recipes for cooking so that I can learn to make many of the healthy foods that have been served to us throughout this trip. For such a difficult day, I’d say we came out of it all better and happier than ever before. After all, a bad day for the ego is a good day for the soul, and my soul is singing as I drift off to sleep. Buenos noches!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today was a tough day, physically and emotionally. Hunter and I began the day late, which was admittedly my fault, and passive aggressively bickered all the way out of Alagón. We walked in silence for a long time, allowing for a lot of emotions to set in and root deeply into our minds and souls. […] Continue reading