Camino de Santiago - Day 21
This morning I awoke with thoughts of walking once again, but I could feel immediately that while my ankle is improving, it was still too soon. I am pleased with the new found sense of ease I feel around my time on the Camino not being quite as I had envisioned. Perhaps the magic of the Camino is healing this peregrino in more ways than one, and after all these years I am learning to truly let myself rest in the present moment... As you can see above - I even took time to stop and smell the flowers!
My first Camino marker of the day was the sugar packet that came with my cafe' con leche. Terrie and I decided that we would take a taxi to our next destination - I would go the entire way and she would get dropped off and walk part of the day. While we waited for our taxi and enjoyed our cafe' I started reading about Villafranca del Bierzo- the town we were in. We discovered that May 1 - today is a very important Festival day in this area.
Sunday May 1 is "A Festa do Maio", one of its oldest traditions, which has survived to this day, from generation to generation , organized by the School of Bagpipes Cultural Association and with the collaboration of the City of Villafranca del Bierzo. Declared a Provincial Tourist Interest, which is a celebration of spring, represented by plant species, which are made to look like a ritual, by which it asks the plant spirits to favor the fertility of the people. It is living maios, for that youth and children are covered with branches of "cañaveiras" over their whole body. Prior to the start of the celebrations, balconies and corridors are adorned with flowers, where some of the events are held.
Well - not one's to miss a party - Terrie and I arranged for our taxi to return at 5pm to pick us up. I will let the following pictures tell the rest of the story...
Time to rest... don't worry Pete - just making friends with the local Policia'... they don't even know about that little incident in the Cathedral where I knelt down to say a Hail Mary and light a candle for mom, accidently knocked over the candelabra with about 40 lit candles, caught it just in time, and said an extra little thank you that I didn't burn down an ancient relic!
Peace,
Theresa
