Mark´s Days 10, 11 & 12 (?)

Hello again.

Soory to be absent so long, but things have been happening.

We are quite a way along the Camino. Over half way actually. I am not going to able to be able to do it all now so on Wednesday or Thursday I am taking a bus, probably, to Villafranca, and will walk in slowly from there. The wear and tear of this trek is something that I had bargained on and there is always a little pain somewhere. Arthur and me are not alone in this though. Everyone at this stage is immediately obvious by their curious walking style. We even joked that the theme song for the Camino should be REM´s "Everybody Hurts".

We have been passing through the Messina. The flat, long area of the Camino that upsets a lot of people mentally. Can´t say that it has bothered me that much but then I am used to seeing a trail stretching out for miles and miles ahead of you.

Day 10, whatever day that was, was Arthur´s birthday. Marita organised a little party where most of the Pilgrims staying at the Alberque that night sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I think he was touched with this. It was a good night.

The next day we were in Carrion De Los Condes. After doing all that I need to do each day after the walking (shower, clean clothes etc) I headed into the town to let Arthur sleep. I got back to the room 7 hours later after spending sometime with Marita, then drinking with an Irish/Canadian called Greg Byrne and attending second Pilgrim birthday in two days. It was a good day but bloody hot. It was hotter than we had had it so far. So that puts up at around 40 degrees.

Yesterday, a lot of us had some bad water. The effects didn´t hit us until we out in the middle of nowhere with the tempreture in the 30´s. Luckily, I wasn´t effected badly (took myself to bed and just drank water). Two others had it bad though and I did whatever I could for the girls, seeing as the people they were with didn´t seem interested in helping them.

One of the girls, Martina, is from the Czech Rep. I talked to her just to try and take her mind off the fact that she was vomoiting ever 20 mins. She told me that she was on the Camino to find herself. I asked why she had to find herself. She then told me the story of the scrafice and struggle that she had at home to try and care for her three relatives, work to support them and try to study for her Ph.D at the same. The story and the lack of self pity left me humbled. She is quite a girl.

I am looking at the title of this entry and I can´t decide if it is right. I have lost days. This happening a lot. I don´t know the day or the date. Locations are merging into one another. The mornings a grind of "Get the kms in before the heat kills you". The evenings rest, recover, have a laugh, prepare for the next day.

Ellen, I will be buying you new rucsac. The one you gave me stinks. I can´t believe how bad it it smells. But then it has had x amount of days with sweat going into it for 7 - 8 hours a day.

By my reckoning, I will cover another 216 kms of the Camino before next Friday. One part of me wants it over now (I miss people and home), while another knows that I am meeting some incredible people.

I have been asked to say that Arthur did try and blog tonight but we are restricted to whatever service we happen upon in each town and he couldn´t log in it was so slow.

Will try a blog more often and will try and work out how long I have been here and where I am before I do it.

Later Dudes