Our all-night bus arrived at just after 4 am. It was an easy and comfortable ride. Chris slept quite a bit, River was wide awake but calm and content with her all-night vigil. We sat in the two front seats just behind the driver and had wonderful panoramic views of the sunset, which led to reflections on this as a pilgrimage with dawn at our back and walking into the sunset. This resonated with Gaudi's immense Sagrada Familia cathedral with the east entrance (sunrise) devoted to the nativity and all beginnings, with the west entrance (sunset) devoted to the "passion" and death, suffering and endings. Although that makes it all sound rather dark and somber, and it doesn't feel that way at all.
We were disappointed not to find any hot breakfast or coffee at the bus station. After reorganizing our backpacks, locating our headlamps, and dressing for the cold, we set out walking at 5 am, Chris navigating by paper map and River by her gps app. It was very dark and an almost full moon. Finding the Camino was our first challenge. We were deleriously happy to find our first scallop shell marking the Camino, so much so that we must include as our first photo this very dark photo of Chris standing beside that first marker.
Our attachment to the Camino continued to be insecure for some time as we played lost and found in the dark, always thrilled to find a yellow arrow or a scallop shell. So our second picture is a yellow arrow and shell also in the predawn dark.
It didn't really get light until 7am and we didn't find breakfast until almost 8am. You can imagine how impatient Chris was with River as she repeatedly stopped to try to photograph the beautiful dawn sky and landscape. Photo 3 shows how gorgeous landscape, morning sky and moon were. Only the goldfinches perched in the dawn light are missing.
And you can also imagine how impatient Chrissy was as River insisted on dawdling and dawdling and dawdling over breakfast. Why, we must have spent almost 30 minutes. Nevertheless,before 11am we had reached the village of Hornillos (our first destination) and were sitting in the sun in our t-shirts having progressively peeled off mittens, wool hats, jackets, fleece top. Photo 4 shows Chrissy home at last in the sun.
It turns out that both the wifi and dining possibilities in Hornillos are quite limited. And the church that we remembered so fondly (especially two German women singing sacred German music a Capella in a deeply moving way in that exquisite acoustic space) is now closed for the installation of electricity and "megafone."
Which is just to say, you never walk the same Camino twice -- and, its all part of the Camino.
After much search, and having been assured there was no food store ("mercado") in the village, we actually found a tiny food store ("alimentacion") and put together a perfect lunch (including the first San Miguel of our Camino) which we ate in the sun, and then attended to our most important project--a nap.
If you'd read this far, congratulations, and thank you for walking with us. Enjoy the nap!
Buen Camino.
Ps. We actually had a very pleasant dinner followed by a stroll through the small village. Probably this village would not exist without the Camino that supports three albergues (pilgrim hostels) and a Restaurante. Photos 5 and 6 and 7 reflect our appreciation for the simplicity and age of the village.
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