Conversations Along The Way

Yesterday during Happy Hour I had an amazing conversation with a young Spanish medical student. She is worried about deciding which area of medicine or specialty she wants to pursue. Apparently, in Spain you have to make that decision when you finish your four years of medical school, before you actually have any experience. For her, that's two years from now. She hopes that somehow doing the Camino will help with that decision. We discussed how life is a hard thing to plan. Many things can happen which change the plan or direction. We discussed whether this is always a bad thing. We also discussed that maybe we weren't the controlling power or force. And we discussed the fact that nothing is forever. 

Bea and I are teaching each other our native language, just in the process of communicating. It is cool and amazing how much faster you can learn this way. 

Today we were on a hunt for a carritos, which is a shopping bag on wheels that the Spanish women use to transport their groceries. We went to the Chino first. Chino is a term for bargain stores run by Asians. They carry a wide variety of things from soap to car covers. Anyway, I love these stores. On my first Camino, I lost my expensive lulu lemon yoga pants. I found what I referred to as my Star Trek pants at a Chino in Puenta Reina for like five euro. I called them Star Trek pants because they had this silver lining that was supposed to keep you cool when you were hot and warm when you were cold. I bought them five years ago and I'm wearing them today. 

In fact, the next Spring I wanted to get another pair, so I checked the label and they were made by Columbia, a US sporting goods company. I bought my second pair from Columbia for $65. That's why I love Chino. I still like my first pair best, even though the material is getting a little thin, because there is a story that goes with them. I love a story. 

As Bea and I were leaving the Albergue to go shopping, she told me today was the fiesta of the shooting star. At least I think that is what she said. In Spain they have fiestas for any darn thing. These folks just like to party. So, we told Elidio, "hasta luego," then it was hasta las doce, then hasta diez, then we decided, since I have a key to the Albergue, it could hasta whenever. We were laughing at the idea of us out partying while Elidio took care of the pilgrims. Maybe you had to be there. We chuckled all the way down the hill. 

Anyway Bea and I went to Chino and found several things we needed, including this carritos:

If you look closely, you will notice that the Owls on the carritos match the Owls on the tablecloths at the Albergue. It was perfect, and only 15€!

So now it was time to take it on a trial run to the supermercado. You need to remember, none of us have cars. So we have been lugging supplies and groceries through town and up a pretty steep hill in plastic grocery bags. 

We decided, on the way to the supermercado, that we were "mujeres oficiales del supermercado" or "official supermarket women." We were just like all the other women going to the market. Well, not exactly, I have purple hair and a tattoo and Bea is 33. Most the women her age are driving cars to the store. But in our minds we were just locals going to the store. 

On the way home with our carritos, we saw Elidio and he ask us to join him for café. I've not had any café con leche since I arrived in Grado, so it was a treat. We sat outside and drank café and watched people walk by. It was lovely. 

This evening at Happy Hour (La Hora de Feliz) I had a lovely conversation with a German couple. They walked from Irun on the Camino Norte and then joined the Primitivo at Oviedo. We discussed drunk pilgrims and the way pilgrims disturb the sleep of their fellow pilgrims. It was entertaining. These Happy Hours are a great way for the pilgrims to get to know each other and for us to get to know them. Today one of the pilgrims said we were the Albergue Hilton. lol

Elidio and I also took a picture when we caught Bea having a cat nap in a comfy chair. I was inside and he was outside the window. In my picture, you can see his hand holding his camera. 

We have someone in the tent again. Well it's time to go to sleep. The Fiesta of the Shooting Star, or whatever, will need to go on without me.