The Song in My Head: Through
the Fire and Flames - Dragonforce
Quote of the Day: “It’s gonna be amazing”
Today’s (Random) Craving/Memory: Wildfires covering Lodi in smoke
Total Steps: 39,289 steps
Total Walking Distance: 15.8 miles / 26.4 kilometers
⏰ Wake Up: 5:30am
💤 Sleep: 12:00am
Spain is on fire.
I woke up late. By the time I woke up, everyone was all packed and ready to leave. They felt bad waking me. (I eventually told them how my family has to pour water on me to wake me up, and advised them to do so if it happens again.)
Got on the road at 6:00am. Solo.
I had Through the Fire and Flames stuck in my head as I walked towards what looked like a horizon lit up by the distant wildfires and smoke.
Continued on. I passed under some power lines that were making extremely loud humming noises. Was either abnormal or I’ve just never stopped to listen to them.
I did a lot of research on the current state of Spain with the wildfires that are interfering with the Camino Frances route.
My friend Max, who is 2 stops ahead near Ponferrada, said that they are being turned away and they are closing the path of the Camino de Santiago due to fire and smoke hazards.
I began to contemplate decisions.
I am 4 days away from approaching the wildfires. I can choose to continue on and hope by the time I arrive the fires are contained and the smoke has cleared.
But if not, I will be stuck in a cesspool of concerned pilgrims going crazy because they are in the middle of nowhere with no way to continue.
Or, I transfer over to the Camino del Norte, and walk to Santiago from there. An extra 30km or so but there is no smoke, no fires. And it’s much cooler, and on the coast.
I thought about this the whole time during my walk. Weighing all the odds.
I then walked into a town and heard Abbie’s loud american voice coming from a cafe. I had caught up.
I walked in, and Ellie and Abbie and Nicolò were having a coffee and a pastry. In a pink cafe.
I joined them.
We ate and talked, then got back on the road to catch up with the others that chose not to stop.
By now the sun had risen and was looking real beautiful.
Abbie and I talked about the mind, creativity, and the idea of approaching life with ignorance and a child-like mindset and how it helps us think more freely and creatively.
Really good talk.
We then caught up with the rest of the gang at a coffee shop.
We went in. I got another pastry. I didn’t know it was so sugar filled and I felt horrible after I ate it.
Elisa and Allegra both got two coffees because apparently that’s Italian tradition.
We got back on the road and they were amped. Walking fast and dancing around.
We continued. I walked with Benjamin, Nicolò and Laura and we were talking about how we as humans have a natural craving of the unknown.
Then we came across a man at a table, giving out wax stamps.
They were super cool.
I got one. It was Green with a gold Camino shell on it.
Then we started to walk into León.
It was so smoky.
Reminded me of Sophomore year at Lodi High when we were going to class when the AQI was 300.
Miss those days.
But this was also when I began to commit to switching to the Norte.
It hurts to think about not finishing the Frances, but it is definitely the right decision. For my health and quality of life.
When we arrived to the Albergue, I got situated in my room, and bought my train ticket to Gijón for tomorrow morning.
I’ll officially be continuing and finishing the Camino de Santiago from the coastal route.
On the other hand, everyone else was still going crazy.
Nobody else had ever experienced a wildfire before. They were all set on just continuing towards the fire, expecting to be fine and pass through.
I was then when I started to realize how desensitized Californians are to fires. The smoke, quick adaptation, and how to read them.
The smoke and fires started 1.5 days ago. They will not be contained enough for passage for another 4ish days with current conditions.
But they were set on continuing.
I let them weigh the odds while I showered and went to the grocery store.
I got rice cakes, ham, protein yogurt, some other snacks, and tweezers and nail clippers. I had somehow lost both of them.
I got back and ate my rice cakes with ham and a protein yogurt.
Then I found a room with a tv. I used my hotspot and watched Now You See Me on Netflix.
When everyone else came into the room to continue discussing their decisions, the host of the albergue came down and yelled at us, accusing us of breaking the door open to get into the room. The door was unlocked. I showed him, he got mad that he was wrong, and then left. Weird.
Then, around 5pm, they finally started to decide on continuing on the Norte.
One by one, for the rest of the evening.
We then went to the cathedral once the movie was over. They was so much stained glass. This is by far the most beautiful cathedral I’ve been in.
Walked around, then met back at the albergue to get one last dinner, since the group is splitting up. Some are going back home, some are continuing on, some are going to Gijón to do the Norte, and some are waiting it out in León assuming it’ll clear up.
We went to the only place that felt right for a meal during a time like this.
Burger King.
This was my first time eating at a Burger King.
I got a chicken sandwich. And ice cream.
It was pretty good. I even dipped my fries in the ice cream, which I never do. Cass has been right all along.
We then went home, and back downstairs to the TV room. We talked more about plans, Abbie also bought a train ticket too to Gijón. I then put Whiplash on the TV and we all started watching.
This is one of my favorite movies.
People started to leave though, but Abbie and I stayed until the end.
So good.
We then got ready for bed.
Tomorrow marks the start of a new chapter in this pilgrimage.
It’s hard to know I’m not completing the Camino Frances, but I guess I’ll have to come back another year to do the rest of it, along with the other part of the Norte that I won’t be doing this year.
But I’m so stoked to camp on the coast, save some money, and be able to jump in the ocean after a long day of walking.
Tracking map will be updated to match my new path.
My train is at 9:28am. Setting my alarm at 7, but I’ll probably naturally wake up earlier lmao.
See y’all then,
David