Searching for a soundtrack

I almost feel that if I write that today wasn´t that bad, it´ll seem like I already beat the odds. Believe me, this is not so. Today my feet lasted longer, the terrain was easier and I had yesterday´s rest behind me. This morning I also went alone, I left after everyone else did because, as usual, I was fussing about with my feet. In truth, if you know me, you will realize that I am always slow and therefore usually late. But this is where good people come in again.

Yesterday, I spent the day, as you know, walking around Pamplona. I think in the last post I forgot to mention Hemingway. Hemingway spent a lot of time in Pamplona from 1923 through 1968. He wrote about it throughly in The Sun Also Rises. I began to ponder how Hemingway and I had a lot in common: Cuba, Spain, South Florida, journalism, writing. For a moment, I wanted to pray to his spirit for inspiration, but I decided against it in case he inspired me to drink heavily, seeing as that´s what he did for the second part of his life.

After my post, I was planning to stay in the hostel and sleep early, but this is never a plan that seems to work for me. I met up with this guy in the bathroom (most places have unisex bathrooms) as I was applying Betodine to the acne that has appeared on my shoulders due to the sweat under that backpack straps, and he said he was going out to get a bite and I decided to go along. We met up with two more pilgrims in the street and went for a few "pinchos" (tapas) in typical Navarra fashion. The way it works is that you go from bar to bar and order a small drink and a tapa and then move on to the next bar so youc an try the specialty of each place.

Everything we had was delicious, I had brazed duck in filo dough with raspberry preserves, goat cheese melted over a crushed tomato and toast, jamon iberico on toast with quail egg and a red pepper stuffed with ham and bechamel sauced that was then breaded and fried. That was certainly more than I had planned to eat that night.

Thank goodness I am a heavy sleeper as last night I was sourrounded by a quartet of snorers. I say quartet because I believe ( and I have a great musical ear) that they were harmonizing beautifully! But I didn´t care, I slept pretty well.

This morning I was the last one out the door, and started on a really nice pace. I realized that I had been making a mistake where my foot care was concerned. Before i left, my mother gave me these rubbery like tubes that you can place around your toes in case they rub up against something in your shoe. These things are fabulous for sneakers, shoes and softer footware that is flexible when your feet on it. What they are not good if the footware that you are wearing is stiff, like for example, hiking boots! I was walking around like a wicked step sister who went hiking in Cinderella´s smaller glass hiking boot. It´s not bad enough that I wear a size nine, I had to make my feet bigger!

So today, when I realized my mistake, I put on Band Aids instead and my feet didn´t feel nearly as cramped. Today was pretty good. I keep trying to take pictures of the countryside and trying to do it justice, but I can´t. Standing atop of a hill you just climbed and staring around you at wind mills that produce power in front of the bluest sky you´ve ever seen is not capturable, even on my 12MP Nikon camera. The grass is so green, it´s the kind of true green you would find in a child´s drawing as they had a pick from their 60+ Crayola set. Everything I could possibly type here falls short of what my eyes are experiencing.

As I walked today I had my iPod on the whole time, I try to keep the music upbeat as I am a slow walker and trying to keep pace with the music is better for me. What´s funny are the songs that go around and around in my head as my own personal walking soundtrack, so far it includes "I´m gonna be (500 miles)" by the Proclaimers, "Kodachrome" by Simon and Garfunkel, "Up!" by Shania Twain, "Pa´lante" by Willy Chirino and a few other relevant tunes that escape my mind. They roll around and around in my head no matter what I am listening to, although the Proclaimer´s song is probably the closest to an anthem as there are 525 miles from Saint Jean to Finisterre, appropriate eh?

Today was better than Day 3 and tomorrow will be better still. I have to make this post short as it is 11pm here and the sun really beat down on me today.

Love,

V