Spanish Reporter

I´m walking along at a little past 11:00am, and what do I find but a working internet in a bodega. My brother, Lloyd, says that I´m his ¨morning cup of coffee,¨ so I decided to give him a report from Spain for his early entertainment.

THE MATINS--very interesting (if you don´t recognize this, read the previous entry). I´m afraid that my flesh, however, was weak. I was supposed to spend the time between midnight and 3:00 reading or in prayful contemplation. I tried reading, but the light was poor, my eyesight was failing, and I was tired from the day´s walk (enough excuses?). So, yes--I fell asleep. I think the brother who had to awaken me before 3:00 was a little irritated, but hey--I recall that Peter, James, and John also fell asleep, and I have nothing like their virtues. Nevertheless, a memorable experience.

SOCKS--yes, the great sock question has been answered. If you recall from one of my first entries, I had been told to buy three different kinds of socks by three different experts. Here is the correct answer: Smart Wool. The silver blend socks do not help reduce odor--after an hour in my boots, they stink. The magical synthetic socks are fine, but they take two days to air dry after washing. One night last week I became frustrated with them and lay them across a lamp shade. Five minutes later, I smelled something burning. Yep--synthetic fibers melt. They had little holes melted in the middle, but--get this--they were STILL WET! I didn´t even give them a funeral--I just threw them in the trash.

HATS--you´ve got to have one to protect from the sun. Lots of walkers have a sort of ball cap with a neck shade attached. Cowboy hats are very popular--especially those straw hats with the broken brims. I, however, wear a Genuine Tilley Hat. When I was looking for headgear, I wanted to buy the cheap, broad-brimmed canvas hat (which would have been destroyed the first week). Kathleen and Jonathan bought me an early birthday present by giving me the Genuine Tilley Hat. It floats; it repels rain; it keeps its shape; it is fully washable; it has a lifetime replacement guarantee. It´s even recognizable--other Genuine Tilley Hat wearers come up to me and ask if I´m from Canada (it´s made there). When I say, ¨No,¨they guess the UK or Australia. We have a club--a conspiracy of knowing that we have the best hat on the trail.

SECOND HAND SMOKE--it seems as though everyone here smokes. There are few ¨smoke free¨ areas, so you just have to submit to it. Some days, after an arduous walk or on a hot day, you walk into a cafe hoping for a cool drink, and a cloud of smoke envelops your face before you can say ¨¡Hola!¨ I´m stting in quite a fog right now; hey, Mark--you could save on ciggs just by taking a deep breath. Well, it´s the culture (and it was, afterall, a gift from the New World).

That´s it for now--I want to get back on the trail. If you didn´t read the entry on Astorga that I made about 14 hours ago, scroll down. In the mean time, good morning, big brother--and ¡Buen Camino!