Stage 9 – the day I found Heaven in the middle of a Highway

Start: 5:50, 9 ºC, sunny

End: 13:30

Distance: 32/192.4 Km

Stayed at: Hotel Hormilla

OST: Vivere il tuo tempo, Litfiba

Dead on arrival.

When I embarked on the Camino, I knew very well what I wanted to do.

I didn’t leave Saint Jean Pied de Port to do the Camino.

“The pain. Why am I doing this?”
“Because I decided to do the Camino.”
“No.”
“I decided to get to Santiago.”

The Camino can be brutal.

Physically brutal: even with the “best” preparation, you can never be ready for the effort required. Day after day the Camino starts wighting on your joints, on your bones, on your back.

When I left Logrono my body was in great pain.

I only managed to complete this stage out of sheer determination. Even stubbornness can meet its end; in the situation where I found myself, negotiating with an unwilling body, with my ability to walk gone, it was no longer a matter of stubborness.

It was something else – something deeper. Determination.

The kind of Determination that can only come from the inside, nobody else could ever push you that far if not your deepest self.

Najera was the first stage which was completely sold out weeks in advance.

I ended up booking a nice private room in a small town a few kilometers past Najera.

Past the city limits.

Past the urban areas.

30 Km in, deep into my longest day yet, I found myself limping under the sun on a highway, dragging myself to cross when trucks were not passing by.

I had no idea where I was going, I was just following google maps. I had to believe there was a happy ending to this miserable day.

And… well, here it was, standing tall, shining brighter than Disney Castle ever could.

A fuel station.

In the middle of the highway.

A fuel station which had rooms for truck drivers… and pilgrims.

I don’t remember if I got a sello; what I remember clearly is 1) the excellent squid their restaurant made for dinner, and 2) the most important item I purchased on the camino, whose value goes beyond Link’s Master Sword or The One Ring.

Ice.

The fuel station sold ice, in 2 Kg bags.

I had never been happier to see ice in my life: my ankle was ready for retirement.

Would hielo work?

Next stage: Stage 9: Hormilla – Granon