My Camino
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Part 5 - From Dust to Marble
Gratuitous Acts | The Rub | Buen Camino
THE RUB
TEMPER-TEMPER!
Looking for somewhere to stop, we head for Ferreiros 
which we are told is just 4 kilometres away. We've walked over 25 kilometres today but Ferreiros doesn’t appear. We must’ve taken a wrong turning. We see a farmhouse and ask the family there. They tell us that Ferreiros is about 10 kilometres from here - we can see it, it's on the mountain. It's late and I’m irritated to think we will be walking in the dark again.
Have you ever made others suffer because you’re having a conniption?
We decide the sensible thing is to hitch a lift but no-one stops for us and I’m in a bad mood now. I hate the whole thing and find myself saying I wish we’d never come on this stupid pilgrimage. Csaba tries to cheer me up by spouting some poetical crap about “dark clouds will eventually pass” but I’m not falling for the old ‘let’s all think positively’ trick. If I’m miserable then everyone should be miserable!
CAUGHT IN THE ACT!
Of course Csaba was right and dark clouds do pass. After a few minutes, an old couple stops to give us a lift. They know we're pilgrims and for us it's quite embarrassing that we’re hitching.
The couple (they're both over 60) tells us that in 2004 they want to walk from León to Santiago. They're very friendly and offer to take us to Portomarín. They bring us right to the door of the refuge - what an embarrassment for a pilgrim! We thank them for the lift and try to disappear before too many pilgrims see us in flagranti... caught in the act! However, the refuge - big surprise - is full. But at least we can use its showers.
PORTOMARIN
We go down the main street of Portomarín and soon find a beautiful park. We decide to sleep outdoors. After having a hamburger in a bar we put down our sleeping bags. A man crosses the street, approaching us. He says we should move from here because at 2 a.m. the water sprinkling system switches on. On his advice we move to another lawn where we will stay dry and settle down to sleep.
The man who offered the friendly tip didn’t have to do so. Why did he go out of his way to help these pilgrims? When was the last time you performed a gratuitous act of kindness?
As I fall asleep I wonder where Gábor is and if we will find him soon. I also feel ashamed about my negativity throughout the day. I’ll try to find a way to apologise to my companions for that - without actually admitting I was wrong, of course ;-)
IT’S ENOUGH JUST TO COVER GROUND
In the morning, Csaba and I go to see the Moorish church then set off, first to Gonzar and on to Castromayor We stay overnight in Eirexe. It’s now less than 60 kilometres to Santiago de Compostela. We don’t even bother to complain about our hardships but we want the camino to end as soon as possible.
We pass through Melide a nice town of several thousand inhabitants. Just out of Melide we see two bridges spanning over a motorway with both ends of the bridges tucked into the forests at either sides. It looks so space-age and surreal.
We arrive in Ribadiso da Baixo where every little corner of the refuge is already packed with people. The hospitalero wants to help us and finds us a place outdoors, next to the showers, toilets and laundry. It has a roof at least, but the stone floor is very hard, it's almost impossible to sleep there: it’s cold and worse, the toilet is the most frequented facility in the refuge... all through the night we hear terrible noises of people moaning and retching, vomiting and puking. Many people have contracted the infection I had. I feel great empathy for their plight.
ARZÚA
Heading for Arzúa we stop for a picnic in the middle of the day. Csaba and I trade foot massages as we discuss what we’ll do if we don’t find Gábor soon.
PABLO ON THE STAIRS
That night, in the town, we find an interesting little cafe and enjoy a good meal. Consulting our map we see we’ll arrive in Monte de Gozo tomorrow. I’m reading aloud the information from our guide book when Gergő interrupts me and loudly calls out - “It’s Mr. Piccaso!”
We turn to see Gábor descending the stairs. He’s been eating his dinner upstairs for the past hour! I am really happy and relieved to see him again because I wasn’t looking forward to telling his parents that we’d ‘misplaced’ him.
Gábor tells us he went away with the other Hungarians very early in the morning, getting up at 4. We give him a hard time over this, reminding him that we agreed we'd always stick together. He had even insisted on this principle when Andi wanted to give up the camino but now that he's met some Hungarian girls he leaves us without notice. Gábor apologises but promises he left a message that obviously never got to us.
He explains that the other Hungarians have moved on but he decided he would wait here for us because he wants to enter Santiago de Compostela - the summit of our spiritual quest-with us! He’s forgiven.
In the morning, we find a good bakery, buy some breakfast and get on with our journey.
MONTE DE GOZO
I had read all about the Monte de Gozo in my guide book - it literally means the Mountain of Joy - a very important place on the camino. From it you can see the spires of Santiago and this sight is reputed to bring about a kind of catharsis in pilgrims... at that very moment you can purge yourself of all the physical and emotional tensions from your body and soul. You are clean and can start life afresh. I can’t wait for this experience.
A few hundred metres and we see a rather steep hill in front of us. With our backpacks on, we start running up the hill, because this is Monte de Gozo - and if all pilgrims get happy here, why shouldn't we? We can hardly walk but can run without any problem; it's perhaps a mind-modified rush of adrenaline. We sweat, we are gasping for breath but we run for all we’re worth! People coming from the opposite direction give us strange looks, but we don't know why - until we get to the top and realise we’ve run up the wrong hill! Oh! The next hill is Monte de Gozo!
We walk up it and find the memorial to the visit of Pope John Paul II. However, even from here we cannot see the spires of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It's hazy and the range of vision is limited. We’ve walked the whole camino, for 30 days, just to find there's nothing at the end. There's no catharsis.
WASHING OFF BULLDUST
Still disappointed, we go to find the auberge. We expect an unpleasant gymnasium, but instead we find a fantastic, sprawling complex of buildings, the biggest of the camino, with 800 beds. The site is very industrial looking, yet still very welcoming. There's hot water in the showers, there are four-bed rooms, there’s a self-service restaurant with exceptionally good food, even coffee automats. These facilities make us forget the disappointment we felt on the hill.
Your tranquillity is not disturbed at all. Here you can feel you're a human being again, not just a pilgrim. Somehow you're respected here for you have achieved something in getting this far.
We haven’t been able to shower during the last four days so taking a hot shower is something exceptional. Gábor shaves off his stubble. Tomorrow we go to Santiago. That surely will be a wonderful and magical moment.
LINKS
Gratuitous Acts | The Rub | Buen Camino