After last night's tapas experience ... a strange and beautiful barista bringing a small portion of lentil soup, explaining it is completely meat free as if intuiting dietary preference, debating our decision to decline second tapas with second glasses of wine, since snack supper awaits in the room ... "maybe a little piece of tortilla?" ... waving farewell as if we were all best friends ... late to sleep and very early awake to a new energy ... anxiety identified in the stomach, where it lives, a mix of coming exit from the world of pilgrims and within that the very special world of the past week or so, practising love with another and not for the first or last time ... time, of course, being relative, past lives an illusion if the mystics are correct ... so if other lives are indeed available where else could they be but in parallel worlds?
As one world begins to collapse into the quantum soup, older, familiar patterns return, fed as they are by fear ... and stereotypes too ... fully focused on bus to the airport at 6.30 am, in order to arrive at the portal in plenty of time for three full hours of security checks, shopping opportunities, general anxiety ... played out perfectly at the early open bar near the bus stop, as yet not identified ... bar man busy texting ignores the friendly greeting "where is the bus stop please?" (albeit delivered in Spanish) soon acting on subsequent request for coffee ( maybe thinking "yes, that's what we do here, tourist information is secondary") ... raising a hand at the second premature request for bus stop info, while he completes the coffee making, then taking Patty to the door to point the way ... which is still not clear as time ticks on, until an angel appears in the form of a Florida pilgrim who knows the way ... the lesson delivered, to be processed later ... Patty's New York persona identifies our bar character as "obnoxious ", the irony not immediately apparent, though shared ... a little contentiously ... perhaps a comment on here will flesh out the story ...
Patty disappears into the nether world of airside, the abandoned pilgrim finds the Way, well marked from airport to trail ... options open and a foxtrot pace the 14km to town offers pilgrim stories plus training for the two day attempt for Fisterra tomorrow ... and the task of identifying those heading there without accommodation for cards from Fatima with warm recommendation ... a Korean couple maybe, the connection was warm enough ... Mark and Sharon from Dublin offer pic and brief story ... Australian family having started at St Jean, nearly teen son Lucas not exhibiting enthusiasm ... mother more so ... another group of Oz women stop at traditional stream for washing of sins before Santiago ... a coffee stop enables some writing and pilgrims to pass ... in town a junior TV crew request an interview, asking about the approach route to the Cathedral ... is it too busy with traffic, would a more peaceful Way be preferable? Question framed with answer in mind, though sabotaged by observation that all along the Way difficulties are there to be dealt with ... anyway Santiago and its Cathedral not the end ... likely ripe for editing ... at the Cathedral Soonchal Roh and publicity shy wife appear seeking Pilgrim Office for Compostela, a service rendered in return for a photo of him for you ... lots of Korean folks on the Ways ... at the Hospederia San Martin, Tony and Graham from Margate chat a while, paying their bill ... and since no reservation was made last night, in order to keep options open, the Pilgrim rooms in the eaves are all gone, leaving a single on the second floor ... with three beds, though sub-letting probably discouraged ... if it's right that whilst the Universe may not always deliver what we want it does deliver what we need, then the extra layer of comfort plus strong WiFi may encourage processing, writing ... plenty of material to work with over the last week ... and the refectory restaurant of the Hospedario, once used by monks, a career currently out of favour, perfect for a temporary return to inner monk ... after the holon of inner child, lover, and other roles ... tomorrow resolute walker pushing the mental boundaries ... though 7.30 am breakfast, included in the room price, may delay the start of a necessarily long day on the road if it is indeed to be done in two days ... both breakfast and long days optional, of course!
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