Ronsevalles to Zubiri 20. 4 Kms June 17th

Roncevalles is an ancient small pilgrim's town with a population of only 100. The residents here have been serving pilgrims since a hospital was built in the 12th century. As you come down from a steep wooded path you see this enormous old building that used to be the hospital, but has been converted to a pilgrims alburgue. The town has a very medieval feel to it. I went to mass that evening in an ancient medieval cathedral and tears came to my eyes as I thought of my grandma hicks and how proud of me she would be. All of us received a pilgrims blessing from the priest.

I realized that night that I don´t have to be in a hurry. There´s nothing to rush towards. My friends along the Camino will come and go. I need to create my own pace. This is true for the Camino and for my life outside of the Camino. The next morning I got off to a slow start. Up at 6:15 and on the road by 8. Nearly all of the other pilgrims had left by this time. I walked with a group of 6 retried Spanish men. Susa spoke English and we walked and talked awhile.  After a few hours I see my friends Steve, Lizbeth, and Dennis who I met at Orisson. We sit outside a bar and sip juice and massage our feet. They head out and I sit with Tracy, Evonne, and Don from California. Kim from Australia.  And two guys one from the UK and one from Dublin. We laugh and talk about marijuana. Ha! I thought coming to Spain maybe people wouldn´t know of Humboldt´s reputation!

All day I had been passing this handsome man who I noticed stopped to take pictures as often as I did. As I was leaving the bar I got the nerve to speak to him and first thing I blurt out is do you speak English not hello or how are you. He says no and I run away. Just down the road I stop at a store to grab a baguette for a sandwich and as I walk out of the store he is waiting for me on the path. I start this time with Spanish and ask him his name. He is Enriqo from Rome. We walk along together for the next few hours. He picks cherries out of a tree for me and together we spot falcons flying through the sky. He doesn´t speak English and I don´t speak Italian so we communicate with hand gestures, smiles, and broken Spanish. I´m in Zubiri now. Enriqo and I are both staying at the alburgue municipal along with many of the people I have met along the way.  There is a celebration in the town tonight.  We are all planing to have some cerveza and check it out. Life on the Camino is simply wonderful.