never one to give in, he remained insistent that he still had what it took to make the walk that day. all he needed was another half an hour in bed. yes, he felt much better now after that last vomit. all he needed was a bit more rest and maybe one more visit to the cabilleros.
after this went on for a couple of hours i found another hostel in town where we had just 2 beds in the room and our own bathroom and we stayed put for the rest of the day. apart from the fact that it was sickness and desperation that led us to this place what joy it was to be in our own room and only have to listen to our own snoring. we could leave our clothes and bags sprawled all over the room. we had fresh towels with a handtowel and a bath mat. we weren't balancing on one leg to dress ourselves whilst trying not to turn the water on if we leaned too closely to the tap. oh joy
all juan wanted was tea to drink. i went to the bar accross the street from the hotel and in the end i had a very nice understanding with the lady there. i conveyed the fact that i wanted a cup of tea and a coffee. that confused her because she couldn't see anyone else with me until i explained that my meridore was enfirmo. she understood what a sick husband was.
however, then i couldn't explain takeaway. she proceeded to make me the tea and coffee in the crockery then gave me a little tray so after that every time juan needed something to drink i went down the street with my tray and asked for more tea. i even extended to asking for a pot of agua caliente(hot water) to go with it. a triumph of survival skill.
today's walk has been the start to a new approach to the camino
- we actually walked a shorter distance than the book suggested today
- we took a double room again tonight
- we have written down the telephone number of someone who will taxi packs from one destination to another
juan continues to reject my suggestions of taking a bus but it is only a matter of time
that sounds like a triumph of language learning. hope dad gets better quickly.
ReplyDeleteSo you've entered the slough of despond... i reckon a few more double rooms and a few more rest days (no more '16 days walking in a row'!) and you'll make it.
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly not soft to take the bus or get your bags taxied (you've already walked and carried so much!) ... but if you can hold to your original goal of walking as long as possible, perhaps you'll ultimately find that most rewarding?
Hang in there and kept us posted on what you decide :-)
We saw caleb and sarah in canberra last week - both seemed very well. Caleb is co-ordinating his first course soon and he's really quite stoked about it.