Moonlight on the Meseta

Part of the way I prepared for this trip was by reading blogs, watching you tube videos, and reading a forum on an App called Camino de Santiago.  Lots of good information.  One thing that caught my eye was a discussion about walking the Meseta at night...under a full moon.  I checked the calendar and saw that I would be at the beginning of the Meseta on May 3rd.  The full moon was the 5th, but clear skies were forecast for May 4th.  Polly, Francine and I have exceeded my daily goal of 14 miles and I would now be at the beginning of the Meseta on...May 4th.  I would have done it myself, but when I told them that I planned to leave the albergue at 3 or 4 am and walk in the dark, under the moonlight, they were in.  We tried to sleep between 10 pm and 4 am and left Tardajos excited.  It was magical.  We weren't cold and there was just enough light to see the trail markers and fist-sized rocks that threatened to trip you.  I'm not very savvy about night photography (Help, Jeff!) but it was truly an experience I will not forget.  If it is clear, we're doing it again tonight.

Because we left soooo early, we were due to be done before noon.  Our destination was the Municipal albergue in Hontanas.  As I walked along, I met a woman named Lena from New Jersey...recently retired from the corporate world and now walking the Camino.  How's that for the opposite end of the spectrum?  She was very fun to talk to....had such a positive outlook on life and was taking the time to stop and truly experience The Way.  I loved it.

The other night at our albergue, an older Spanish couple had a bunk near mine.  I enjoyed their banter with each other, they were so sweet, as was their conversation with...I am guessing...a grandchild, which I eavesdropping on.  They were laying in the same bunk...just...sweet.  But what I loved the most...was when she saw my toes all bandaged and she pulled out her phone and we had a conversation which required texting, translation and yes, some charades.  It was a lot of work.  She wanted to share her vaseline...I took her hand and said, "You are very kind."  I think it might be a sentence that is understood more by gestures than words.

Polly had bought some pretty expensive trail running shoes from REI before this trip.  A few days ago she showed me the heel of one shoe which was separating at the sole.  We talked about some solutions and she ended up buying a tube of super glue with intentions of taking the shoes back to REI when she got home.  So today, we hopefully fixed that buggar...at least until she can get back to Pennsylvania in a month.  Polly squirted half the tube of super glue between the layers of sole, she put a 12 Oz. can of Aquarius in the shoe and then a big rock on top.  It's been sitting there...in recovery...for almost 6 hours.  I'll let you know, but I am optimistic.