Day 2- The Devil’s Trickery
One of the things I try to accomplish on these journeys is to find some good in everything I encounter and to always be joyous. Not gonna lie, easier to do that on the Camino than back in the States. At times I feel like the devil is throwing at me things he figures will get under my skin and get me to be angry and negative- the anti- Camino. Here are some examples of his trickery over the last 24 hours:
1) last night on my way to one of the shared bathrooms (my shower at home is bigger than my hotel room) I noticed a microwave and next to it I saw free earplugs. Weird. I got into bed and then it started- my room was across the street from a Disco. Spaniards like to stay up til the wee hours of the morning. The thumping base easily made into my room as did all kinds of voices trying to yell over the music. I could not sleep. Rather than succumb to the devil’s taunt to rise up in anger, I thought about all the fun the locals must be having below my room, much better way to think of it. Of course I still couldn’t get to sleep.
2) For the past 2 days I have been consistently encountering a horde of French people-a pack of at least 10 including the old and some as young around 10. So many of my miles on the Camino are marked by the sound of the French talking, and talking and talking- it never stops except when they take a moment exude their collective disdain for the old American who keeps walking into them. The devil put them in my path. Rather than stewing over their intrusion into my peaceful contemplative journey, I thought about how happy they are and how lucky they are to have all those generations walking together. That took some doing for sure.
3) Today’s chill, rain, mud, slippery rocks, and challenging terrain both up and down may not have been the devil’s work but he perched himself on my shoulder and kept whispering in my ear “this sucks, you should be pissed, start bitching about it you’ll feel much better”. I rejected his urgings and likened the Camino to life- sometimes smooth sometimes challenging. I’m just glad to be here to experience life in all its forms.
I am staying the night in the seaside town of Zarautz. Lots of surfing going on. This is where they built Magellan’s ship, La Vitoria.
A beautiful government building in San Sebastián
Classic Camino markers in Galicia
I stopped for lunch here as it was the only places for miles to just sit down on something dry. They gave me food and drink at no cost- just a donation if I was inclined. The Camino provides. Oh yeah- the folks in the doorway and to the left are some of the French mentioned above. The devil is telling me to point out their shorts but I refuse.
