2.5.19
On our way out of León, we met a tired pilgrim. Despite his condition, he was kind enough to pose for a photograph with Ellena and Carolin,

I asked him if he liked any sports, and to my surprise he said he was a fan of cricket. Who wouldn’t be? The pilgrim took my hat:

As for León, it took us into Trabajo del Camino. Here, we passed through an ugly industrial estate and on into La Virgen del Camino. In La Vergen, I had to stop due to back ache on my left side; actually, the muscles there were stiffening up, making turning my back a little awkward. Ellena once more proved her quality (just like Faramir) and lightened my load by taking my sleeping bag.

You would be forgiven for thinking that the loss of a sleeping bag would not change things very much as it is very light but on this day it really did make the difference. Mine was not one of those light sleeping bags that some pilgrims carry. My back would not get better again until I came home (and no longer had to carry a backpack) but while it would never be quite well again, so’s to speak, I was able to manage it – and carry the sleeping bag.

It was another hot day as we passed a bunch of cyclists taking a drinks break. We met a Canadian man who was walking the Camino with his wife. Alas, she wasn’t with him – injury had forced her to take a bus to their next destination. Fortunately, though, she would get better and we’d meet them both not long after leaving Sarria. We also met an excited group of guard dogs, and their altogether calmer mother; Ellena made friends with one of the dogs who licked her happily.

Presently, we came to an albergue just outside Valverde. It was on the side of the road but had a lovely garden with hammocks, a round table and even a bed. Inside, the dining-living room was very rustic and homely. This albergue was on the more expensive end of the scale, being 10 or 15 euros to stay at but the bed was comfortable, the food was good, and at the end of lunch and tea, they gave us shots. Shots!

Did I say shots?

At lunch I had a grappa. Pure joy. In the evening, I gave my liver a break and had one of the gentler spirits.

Ha – ‘giving my liver a break’ – drinks another shot.

Anyway, at one of the meals I happened to say that I had finished drinking alcohol and was ‘going back to agua’. Ellena and Carolin started laughing. Why? Why?? They told me to think about about what I had said. I repeated it to myself slowly. Nope. I could find no puns. But they had – Ellena thought I had said I was going ‘back to viagra‘.

wut

I am a strong, confident man; I do not need viagra.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a nice rest in the hammocks. I hung my clothes up to dry and tried to walk across pebbles in bare feet. Ouch! A quick retreat followed. In the evening, we retired to the dorm. One poor pilgrim would sleep in the living room that night due to a nasty cough that she had acquired.