Day 13 of the camino led us out of the large town/small city that is Belorado. Because I didn't bother to venture into town yesterday from the albergue, everything was brand new to me. I discovered there was a proliferation of strteet art all through the town and I would have loved to explore more to see it all, but alas, the camino has a plan and that was not in it for me. At least not at the end of the day.

I did however take a few pictures of the graffiti we passed and ambled my way along the camino, lagging behind the others.

I ran into a beautiful street dog and I couldn't help but check if it had enough water and say hello. I shared quite a special moment with this dog when he decided to play "under the bridge" with me.

check out the video here
https://www.facebook.com/cj.explores.community/videos/206074620146436/

Because I was quite far behind the others I had the whole morning to myself. I had time to reflect and look within myself. To think about my actions and their consequences. This is just one gift that the camino provides. Beautiful meditative opportunities for introspection. I would say that this is beneficial for everyone to allow this once in a while, camino or no camino.

I finally caught the others at a little cafe in a one horse town near a farm side. There was a resident cat and dog that befriended the patrons and we obliged with tummy rubs and ear scratches.

The next section took us through farmland where we passed another templar building. There are many of these along the route and I learnt that many of the churches en route were begun by the templars and finished by the consequent residents. I don't know too much about this history but I am sure I will be somewhat an expert come Santiago.

We passed another small village with an astounding castle/hotel/albergue. I was actually tempted to stay but because it was still early morning I thought I had better continue. Immediately after this town we were climbing a large hill. It was tough in the sun and we struggled our way up. We met a (possibly) insane man who was trying to make us drink from a fountain that clearly said not drinking water. He exclaimed "You are an animal! Not a machine!" We promptly walked on.

Finally we reached the top of the mountain and we took a rest break. Looking around I found a monument to the Spanish Civil War and then a mass grave. Though I could not translate the memorial I felt moved by the site. We left here and saw our first Spanish snake bathing in the sunshine on our path. I tried to snap a photo but it was startled and slithered into the long grass quickly.

The next camino surprise was completely unexpected. Oasis del Camino. Along the pine forest track was a small tuck shop with cold drinks, food and plenty of smiles from the Italian vendors. Everything was donativo and they had a wonderful array of seating options from hammocks, to tree trunk stools to handmade benches. They also had the friendliest dog who followed commands fantastically and even hopped onto guests who were resting in the hammocks. It was hilarious and we couldn't get over how perfect this spot was. We had a beer each and though we wanted to stay we had to push on to find our bed for the night.

The next town we passed wasn't ideal. It had one albergue in it and no supermarkets. The restaurant option wasn't going to suffice either as it didn't match our dietary requirements. We also knew of a vegetarian friendly albergue in the next town which was only 4km away so we decided to keep walking. Not before having a quick beer and baag of chips though. This was a mistake. I had bought an extra beer for another pilgrim I met earlier that day. Phill from Melbourne, Australia. I didn't want another beer but he repaid the favour before I could refuse and before I knew it we were floating on down the track having long winded discussions about politics and social contructs. The girls were in front and I walked with Emiel. Because we hadn't eaten hardly anything the beer hit hard and I wasn't really taking care while walking. Soon I felt a strong pain in my left shin. I was worried this was going to be like Brad the Canadian's injury which he has been nursing for the past week. I ended up limping into the small town Agés where the girls had found our albergue.

The hospitalero was so lovely, she was friendly and had such a warm welcoming energy. The perfect host. Her face glowed with love for pilgrims. We were soon shown to our rooms and then we decided to go and have a stretch. We stumbled upon the local woodturners shop where he gave us a tour of all of his creations. It was incredibly intricate what he had created. There were scale models of many different buildings, tools, household appliances and more and he was so happy to show us around we donated a few euros to his cause. We finally found a field to do some yoga in near the church. I led a yoga class, like I had done once before and everyone really enjoyed it. I am only copying what I know from Yoga with Adriene on youtube but people keep saying I should consider becoming a yoga teacher... Interesting...

After this we come back to the albergue for our vegan dinner. First course is a bowl of pumpkin soup which blows everyone away. It's so well seasoned and tasty that we don't want it to end! As we finish the first course complimented with bread and wine the next dish arrives. A colourful vegan paella cooked especially for us. Emily and Courtney cannot contain their excitement and thank the host until she has to tell them to stop. Finally desert arrives which is a special cup of caramel mousse for the others and a large slice of melon for us vegans. What a treat that was! After dinner we take a short walk around the village before retiring to our dorms.

Another beautiful day on the camino. Thanks for stopping by!

PEACE

@stickycj