"The Slough of Despond" and "Firescratches"...

Yesterday we left the joy and warmth of the albergue at Bodenaya and set off on our way to Tineo. The day was expected to be an easy day of 12 km, but for some reason we all struggled to get into our stride.
The landscape was beautiful, but it was very hot and felt longer than it should have done, which made us feel rather apprehensive about the longer and more difficult walks that lie ahead of us in the next few days. We arrived in Tineo and found ourselves in the albergue which Christopher described as being "like a nuclear bunker". It was actually clean and comfortable, but felt very sterile and lacked the character and warmth of the previous places where we've stayed. We headed out to find something to eat and found ourselves eating greasy burgers in an alleyway, permeated with the smell of used chip fat. Nicky has developed  an infected bite on his arm, and Sophie had nightmares that the horse flies (which are plentiful on the Camino) were eating her...so all in all, the day was difficult and I definitely felt a bit bleak. 

The words "the Slough of Despond" surfaced and then I remembered that the phrase comes from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress so they seem quite apt, given our current journey!  I remember as a child, there was a bookshop in downtown Harare that sold laminated soft-focus pictures of baby chicks or donkeys  and rainbows inscribed with Bible verses or trite loo poetry and best of all...these treasures were laminated. I used to love going there to spend my pocket money. At some point I heard about the Pilgrim's Progress and thought it sounded very interestingso I went to the fluffy chicken Christian bookshop and asked if they could order it for me. They did. I was twelve. I didn't get very far at reading it ....but the "slough of despond" has been an image that has always stuck with me. Yesterday it was real! 

But as I went to sleep (in the bunker), I also remembered Nicky gazing at the sunset after a Zimbabwean thunderstorm a few years ago.  He was three. He pointed at the lining of the cloud and announced that " Most clouds have firescratches!" 

Indeed. Today has been the "fire scatch" day. We woke up and somehow the mood had lifted. There is something very peaceful about getting up and walking....and leaving behind the bad day from the day before. It was fresh and misty and we all had more energy for the 18km from Tineo to Samblismo. A fellow pilgrim bought us a large cauldron of delicious soup for lunch. The children are definitely attracting a lot of attention as not many children do this route. Tomorrow will be the real test as we attempt the Hospitales route through the mountains.
The biggest and littlest pilgrims discuss the number of kilometres still to be walked.

The children are identifying and photographing the plants they see in the hedgerows and so I'll finish off with golden  Rock Roses and purple Bell Heather . 


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