The Wall

Day 27, Pedrafita do Cebreiro to Samos

“The Wall” greeted me this morning when I woke up. “Hola!” he chided, clacking his teeth together in rhythm, like big, Jim Carey chomper castanets.

Oh no, I thought as a flopped back on the bed. I get to deal with this today?

In all fairness it took 27 days for me to hit The Wall, and I know better than to try and Mary Poppins my way out. No. I wallow in it. Only problem was there wasn’t anything in particular getting my goat. I was just tired, but I knew I had to face the next mountain range, more cow pie, more flies, and more endless beauty. Whatever. Let’s Just get it over with.

We headed out and walked by two men in wheel chairs. This is also when I learned we were taking the scenic route to our destination today, a three hour detour. I’m sure you can hear the conniption-fit of The Wall meeting the WASP wheel chair image guilt in my head.

By mid-morning we came to a bar. Note: bars have a Starbucks function in Spain. They open early, serve coffee and a variety of pastries and meals, and are often buzzing with locals and pilgrims alike. However, unlike Starbucks, usually there is no listing of products or costs. You are just supposed “to know.”

I practiced my intuition-ordering since it wasn’t clear what they had. I managed to order coffee but I couldn’t seem to spit out the word “croissant”. And with that, my anthropomorphized Wall had something to flail at: “I’m SO SICK of not knowing the language, MY BAD for not learning conversational Spanish, and OMG I just want some food without feeling STUPID.” All in my head of course.

I decided there was no time like the present to try out some emotional eating. I’ve heard it works wonders. I swigged down my coffee and went across the street to a small grocery store where I could see what I wanted. I shopped to the soothing tunes of “Take It Easy,” by the Eagles, and picked up Ruffles Potato Chips and a bag of Ju-Ju candies.

We set back out on the trail, comfort food in hand. But the coffee started having more than its desired effect.

Now, about one’s morning constitution. There’s no way you haven’t wondered about it, and without putting any images in your head, it’s something everyone has to sort out for themselves. Some see the world as their toilet. I, however, have always worried I’d wind up like Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park, whether it be a T-Rex or a wild boar. Enough said.

The path was gracious and forgiving today, unlike the thoughts in my head. See below for photos of comfort food, cemeteries and endless beauty.