Sept. 5, 2010 - Los Arcos to Viana

Up at 6:00, gone by 6:45. Walked the first 8 km to Torres del Rio with Kieran. He is going as far as Lagronno today and I am taking it easy and only going as far as Viana so he picked up his pace and I slowed down.

Walked about a km then stopped and sat on the steps of an old church for about an hour pondering something Stephan said yesterday about how it is more important to ask the right questions because the answers will come if you know the question.

Got to Viana at 12:30 - 6 hours - actually walked 4.5 hours, did 18.5 km.

The refugio has 2 rooms with mats on the floor, a small bathroom that has a small shower and sink where you also wash your clothes. Only one person fits in it at a time. This totally made me aware of how we are definitely accustomed to comfort. Will be interesting. There are 9 people in a row on mats on the floor.

It is 3:30 and I am hungry. They are serving a meal for pilgrims at 8:00 so I will go for tapas.

When I first walked into town at 12:30 the street was croweded. Now there is hardly anyone around. It is siesta. I purchased some tapas and cafe con leche at the bar by the church and walked outside. Olga from Germany asked me to join her table. The tables are in the street and people walk from one bar to another visiting as they go. It feels more like a street party, but is is a way of life.

I have learnt that these are plazas. They are usually created around a large stone-concrete church and the buildings in the street are also stone-concrete and tall to keep out the sun. Went for a walk to the end of the street and through an archway. It was incredibly hot. It reminded me again of why there is siesta.

Dinner was fun, we laughed alot. Sat around the dinner table till almost 10:00.  Trying to sleep was a challenge. Michael from Australia was beside me. A bunch of young boys were playing some kind of ball game in the court yard under our window till midnight. Our host kept coming in and counting everyone (I think when Katrina the German girl left, she didn´t tell then she was leaving). Anyway, Micheal said he felt like he was in prison. The girl beside him (from Quebec) said she worked in a prison. We started laughing and it was awhile before I could quite.