After a peaceful night alone in the apartment, breakfast at the nearby Nimon cafe ... the beautiful owner as friendly as Alex from yesterday evening ... appearing genuinely delighted to serve pilgrims ... giving route guidance o the church, where the yellow arrows reappear ... first few kilometres perilously close to cars ... best avoided in the dark ... indeed Alex proposed a short train trip to avoid it ... anyway, soon at Boo and the arrows pointing to the old river crossing on a long, winding diversion ... spotted on www.gronze.com ... if it was afternoon the road would call, but it's early and Santillana is not the only albergue available ... plenty of time to slow down after yesterday's epic stage ... after a couple of hours the trail turns west again .. a roadside bar offers coffee and sandwich and a rest in the sun, whilst car borne customers park right in front of the table, rather than walk 20 metres ... one even leaving the engine running while he popped in for cigarettes ... still, equanimity prevails effortlessly ... a smile and hola cheerfully returned ... they know not what they do ... though the cunning bar owner does, charging a special pilgrim price of 3 euros for the thin sliced cheese sandwich ... her smile one of triumph rather than love ... patience would have led to nearby establishments ... the lesson is a good one and the sandwich good for another few hours before lunch ... before that, left heel considers blistering ... Farmacia duly appears ... special stick on preventative and curative treatment applied ... easing up on road bashing also considered ...
Belgians are at the lunch stop in Requejada, having walked to Boo yesterday ... heading on to Santillana ... the hostel opposite the lunch stop tempts tired legs and feet, but 10 km to Santillana is doable ... though the municipal albergue there is small and very cosy ... likely to be busy too ... the private one a couple of kilometres before calls, only a few euros more and breakfast included ... spacious and comfortable ... bunk beds, but only me here so far ...
Winding back to morning musings ... the billboard claiming Jesus is the only way ... rather harsh on all those heathens from far off lands with their own prophets, before and after Jesus ... not to mention folks from historically Christian countries finding other paths ... the one in the next town is less serious ... the cartoon character suggesting that closed minds are often found with open mouths .... and picking up the philosophy from supper with Jamie, who was not religious, but convinced from his experiences in the fire service ... holding the hands of dying people, that we all arrive with an expiry date firmly fixed ... interesting ...
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