Somewhere Slowly

This week I bit the bullet, grit my teeth and cancelled my beds on the Camino Francés in September. Not because I wanted to, but for the simple reason that I am waiting to hear about a rather lucrative contract – if I get it, I won’t have time to go, and if I don’t, I can’t afford to go. So virus or no virus, and quarantine or no quarantine, in the end I had no other choice.

The good people at Albergue Rosalia in Castrojeriz changed the date of my pre-paid bed again, rather than donate it to a tired pilgrim, and I am finding some comfort in knowing that a lovely flat (as in ‘not bunk’) bed in a lovely room is waiting for me on a lovely day on a lovely walk next year. Unless, of course, I have to postpone my postponement further.

Next thing I had to change was my flights – again. I have already changed the original return to an out ticket, Liverpool to Madrid in spring next year. Still hoping to get that meseta walk with wild flowers and warm, but not burning hot sunshine, from Burgos to wherever. Now I have moved my September flight one year forward and hopefully everything will fall into place for that, even if it *is* Holy Year … I’ll just have to wait and see. I don’t even know if I will still be living in the UK next year, let alone what my/our options will be for walks like the camino.

For now, all I can do is hope, and wait, and explore other options – and keep my fingers crossed for this contract, which would leave me with a nice little travel fund in the new year. In the meantime I can heartily recommend delving into your photos and diaries from previous adventures and creating your own little photobooks or posters … I finally got around to making a collage of waymarkers, shells and arrows!

I know there are thousands of pilgrims out there walking already, and more on the way. Spanish and UK travel advice seems to be changing by the day, if not the hour, so make sure you check up to date resources before you go. Take care if you are walking, take heart if you’re not; buen camino and ultreia either way!