We’ve been talking about doing this walk (Camino de Santiago) for months and the day is finally here! Gabriel’s mom, Pilar, flew in to Madrid a few days ago and we had fun exploring the plazas, churches, palaces, mercados and taperias with her.
This morning the three of us left Madrid early in the morning to take the 4.5 hour train to Ourense, the starting point for our walk. There are a few natural hot springs and an old Roman thermal bath (Burgas) in the city that looks really interesting.
More so than Madrid, stores and offices here really observe their afternoon break. Nothing was open between 1 to 4:30/5:00pm except for coffee shops and a few restaurants and cerveceria. So much so that the town almost looked abandoned. I don’t mind the desolate atmosphere actually. In fact I’m very much looking forward to the silence during the walk.
I asked Pilar, her reason for doing the Camino. She has many, she said. It’s something she’s always wanted to do, she adored Santiago (St. James) whose letters are also one of her favorites in the Bible, and she sees the walk as a way to pray to God. She asked me my reason and I gave the standard answer of, oh.. I’ve always been curious about it ever since I read Paulo Coelho’s book. And I thought it’d be quite special for the three of us to spend time together on this walk. I know there’re other reasons why I’m looking forward to this walk, but it’s something I’m not able to describe in words. Not yet. Hopefully as the walk progresses, I can articulate my motivation better.
For now, I’m just grateful that the three of us are here, in good health and spirit, about to embark on this exciting journey.
