03/10/2024
Camino de Santiago - Day 25
📍San Martín del Camino >📍Hospital de Órbigo >📍Astorga (23km)
The way from San Martín del Camino to Puente de Órbigo is next to the road, and I didn’t leave the albergue until about 7:30am, so this 7.3km stretch in the morning was particularly noisy. The bad thing was that the tops of my left feet started in pain while I was approaching the albergue the day before, so I walked slowly.
Because I walked slowly, I saw the red sky illuminated by the sun before sunrise, I guessed the weather will be very warm today.
When I arrived at Puente de Órbigo, Brent and Catherine had almost finished breakfast. They walked really fast, but Brent had already told me before setting off that he had to hurry to the first café at the first stop because he was very hungry.
After breakfast, we moved forward again, and just as we were passing the bridge, there was a group of pilgrims singing on the bridge. I immediately recorded it. When I passed by them, I gave them a thumbs up 👍 and finally said loudly "Buen Camino!"
Catherine was shocked because she didn’t except I would do that , she said, "You are too cute!"
It seems like every time I say “Buen Camin” or say “Buenos días” to people I pass by, my Camino friends would always tell me I am very cute.
Later, I couldn't keep up with their walking speed, so I back to walking slowly by myself again.
When passing through a forest, I took a video. When I turned around, 2 Spanish were behind me, so I said Buen Camino again. Then we walked together for about 5 minutes. Their names are Alto and Felipe. And they know I am Eva who is made in Taiwan.
I also met Benjamin who is from Belgium. We met about 2 weeks ago. The last time we met seemed to be on the way to Burgos, but we had never walked together, so I was very happy to meet him again. This time we had time to understand each other's reasons for Camino de Santiago. Benjamin said he worked at a scaffolding company, but he no longer found the job interesting, so he quit to give himself some time to think about what he wants to do. We walked together for about 1 hour.
There is a rest stop (El Jardín de Alma) 6 km away from Astorga. The owner Alma here prepares a variety of food, fresh fruits, biscuits, bread, cheese, coffee, juice, tea... these are all provided free of charge, but pilgrims are free to make donations. Whenever the food is running low, Alma will rush to replenish it.
As I approached while humming, I saw Brent, who was easily identifiable because he is tall. Then when I arrived, I saw Vincent and Gemma! So I greeted them warmly. We would stay at the same albergue(My Way) again today. Vincent told me that there is an old song called My Way and he highly recommended that I search for it and listen to it. Except Buen Camino, pilgrims also often say "See you on the way." So when they were leaving, they also said to me "See you on My Way!"
After resting, I set out again, and then I saw the lookout that Stewart shared the day before. At first I was debating whether to climb up, but soon I decided to just go for it! But the observation deck is quite high, I was very nervous when climbing. After all, falling is not fun. When I climbed up, I waved and said "Buen Camino!" to people passing below me, but I couldn't hear anyone respond.
After finally walking to Astorga, I took a shower and went to a supermarket to buy things. Usually when I get to the albergue I don't want to move around anymore unless I have to go out to buy something or eat. And while I was eating chips and walking towards the shelter, I suddenly heard someone calling my name. It turned out the 2 Spanish I met on the road today.
I walked up to them and said, "I think I need to take a photo with you as a memory."
To be honest, as I have been on my camino, I am often stopped by these kind people. Everyone makes me really feel that I am not alone.
On day 25, in Astorga, I had walked 508.5 kilometers.
從San Martín del Camino 到Puente de Órbigo的路剛好在道路旁，加上我大約7:30才離開庇護所，所以早上的這段大約7.3公里的路顯得特別吵雜，不妙的是我的左腳腳背在前一天快要抵達目的地的時候開始感覺不對勁，所以我走得很慢。
但也因為慢慢走，所以看到日出前被陽光映照得通紅的天空，想必今天天氣會很溫暖。
我到Puente de Órbigo 的時候，Brent和Catherine 已經快要吃完早餐了，不得不說他們真的走得很快，但Brent出發前已經告訴我他要趕快走到第一站的第一家咖啡店，因為他很餓。
結束早餐，我們再度前進，然後就在經過橋的時候，前方有一群朝聖者正在合唱，於是我立刻拿起手機錄影。經過他們的時候，我向他們比了讚👍，最後大聲地說「Buen Camino!」
Catherine 先是嚇了一跳，隨即又說「妳也太可愛了吧！」
好像每一次我對經過的人說Buen Camino 或打招呼，都會獲得「妳怎麼這麼可愛」這樣的評語。
後來我又開始追不上他們的走路速度了，於是我再度回到自己一個人慢慢走。
在經過一片樹林的時候，我拿著手機錄影，當我轉身的時候，後面剛好有2個西班牙人，我又再度說了一句Buen Camino。然後我們大概一起走了5分鐘，知道他們一個好像叫Alto，一個叫Felipe。然後他們知道我是Made in Taiwan 的Eva。
接著我又在路上遇到比利時的Benjamin，我們大概在2週前就認識，最後一次見面好像在往Burgos的路上，但我們從來沒有一起走路過，所以我很開心再遇見他。這一次我們有多一點的時間了解彼此為什麼踏上朝聖之路。Benjamin 說他之前在鷹架公司上班，但他現在覺得那份工作不再有趣，所以他辭職，給自己一點時間思考自己想要做的事。我們大概一起走了1個多小時才各自分開走。
在距離Astorga的6公里，有一個休息站(El Jardín de Alma)，這裡的主人Alma準備了各式各樣的食物，新鮮的水果、餅乾、麵包、起司、咖啡、果汁、茶…這些都是免費提供的，但是朝聖者可以自由捐獻。每當食物快光盤的時候，Alma就會趕快補上。
當我一邊哼著歌一邊接近的時候，我看到了Brent，因為很高很好辨認。然後我抵達的時候，我看到Vincent和Gemma！於是我又很熱情地向他們打招呼。我們今天又再度住同一家庇護所（My Way ），Vincent告訴喔有一首老歌叫My Way，極力推薦我搜尋來聽。除了Buen Camino，朝聖者也常說「我們路上見！(See you on the way.)」所以他們要離開的時候，也對我說「我們My Way見！」
休息過後，我也再度出發，然後我看見了前一天Stewart 分享的瞭望台。一開始我還在思考要不要爬上去，但很快我就決定直接去做吧！不過因為瞭望台蠻高的，我在攀爬的時候也是很緊張，畢竟掉下去可不是一件好玩的事。當我爬上去後，我揮舞著手跟下面經過的人說「Buen Camino!」但我聽不到有沒有人回應我。
好不容易走到Astorga，我洗完澡後就去附近超市買東西。通常我到了庇護所就不想再到處走動，除非必須出去購買東西或吃東西。而正當我一邊吃著洋芋片，一邊往庇護所方向走的時候，我突然聽到有人喊我的名字。原來是今天在路上遇到的西班牙人。
於是我走向他們說：「我覺得我需要和你們合照做紀念。」
說真的，朝聖之路走到現在，我常常在半路被叫住，大家都讓我真的感受到我不是自己一個人。
第25天，在Astorga，我已經走了508.5公里。
#跟著唯芯去旅行 #西班牙朝聖之路 #法國之路 #一個人的旅行 #自我對話
