Day 29 Camino de Santiago Aug. 3 Molinaseca

What a wonderfully peaceful day!  I'm not good at slowing down, but am making progress at it.  After dinner last night I met an older German couple that I had seen off an on since Leon, so we went to the river cafe and had a drink.  So, so, so, peaceful.  It's amazing how concerned with how many people are concerned with how many guns are in the USA.  The German man said that there are 80 million Germans and 40 million have guns but only 10 million are registered.  Hmmmm...does that sound familiar??

 




     I realize there is no way to capture the spirit of the town of Molinaseca but it reminds me of a summer town in New Hampshire we were in one time long ago.  Kids swimming in the river, old grand dads pushing their grandchildren in little vehicles.  I'd say it's a Rockwell Americana, but it's Spain.

    This is the main street looking in both directions.  Nothing I can say or show you will give you the warm feeling one gets when walking down the road that has been walked for centuries.  It's...comfortable.   Like you are walking in a history book.

 



 

      I wanted to sit outside this morning and write so I found a cafe and ordered a tea.  I was there for over 2.5 hours and watch the store owner give 1/2 his store away to strangers walking by.  He gave me the internet password of the building that I was sitting in front of.  I bought a couple of peaches and tomatoes, a bottle of water, and while ringing it up, he stopped and gave myself and a Japanese pilgrim several slices of his most expensive ham.  He also brought me olives while sitting at the table.  His wife brought me a peach that had been soaked in brandy.

   Quickly, put some garlic around your neck.  This one is a little monster!!  While sitting at the table, a little girl, Marina, who apparently is a little imp, came over and began to bug me.  The mother and father, who I spoke of in the previous paragraph tried to get her to stop, but I said it was okay.  She wanted to type the word "Santiago" on my computer, so I let her.

 






    As I paid, the dad asked to see my Credencial, which is the passport a Pilgrim uses to be able to stay in the albergues.  He stamped it and then pointed to his father's picture on the wall and said, "Mi Papa!"  The stamp is of his father.  Pretty cool, eh?
 

  Speaking of Credencial, this is what it looks like.  I like looking at all the stamps.  What a sucker I am.  I'd walk across Russia if they were stamping some booklet!

   





This is a picture of a flashlight I found.  The first night on the Camino, way back in Ronceville, the guy who was in the bunk below me left it.  It has it's own generator which powers the battery via a crank.  It has been very helpful!  It makes a whirring noise that is annoying if you are trying to sleep, so I have to make sure I crank it before going to sleep or turn it very very slowly in the dark.

 







     Kids kill me.  There is a very shallow river to play in, but they play in the little canal next to it.  Kinda like playing in the box that the giant toy firetruck comes in at Christmas.  The little boy is Jose and an equally wild hare.  He and Marina are going to be talked about for years!
 

Speaking of toy firetrucks, here is an example of what I was writing about last night.  This "car" came through the restaurant as I was eating dinner.   No one cares.  No one over reacts.  Very peaceful and enjoyable.  A real family feel.

     In the countryside of Spain, families can have guests stay in their homes, much like the Riads of Morocco, except in Spain they are called Casa Rurals.  I'm staying in one now.  Gotta love a place that has so many flowers on the balcony!

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” ― Oscar Wilde