Day 56: Photo Shoots and Ukuleles

October 6: It did sprinkle a bit overnight, despite the weather reports predicting otherwise, so I was more than a little happy I had set up my tarp to keep condensation off of me. It would have been a particularly miserable night had I not done that! =)

Kathy and Jen packed up early and hit the trail before sunrise once again. The rest of the girls took a bit longer. I deliberately hung back a bit to attend to some bodily functions after they cleared the area. It would be a lot easier for some privacy where we camped, well off the busy pilgrim path, than it would be on the trail.

Late in the morning, I saw a young woman with a clipboard walking in the opposite direction on the trail. Taking a survey of some sorts? I waved politely, intending to walk past her, but she shoved the clipboard at me. At the top was a paragraph in Spanish, and just below it another one in English which said that she was deaf and mute and raising money for the cause. Now, I don’t mind giving money occasionally for good causes, but frankly, I didn’t know this woman from a hole in the wall. For all I knew, she’d go home and pocket it herself and call herself a good cause. So I shook my head and tried to tell her no, but she kept pushing that clipboard in front of me pointing at the part saying that she was deaf and mute.

Annoyed, I took the clipboard, added my name to it, and for the amount donated, I put a big fat zero. I shoved the clipboard back at her and pointed to it. Comprende now, little lady? Then I walked off.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit of pleasure smacking her around like that for being such an annoying little twit, but a little part of my brain was asking myself, “Was that rude?” Well, of course it was rude! But was it really deserved? Essentially telling a supposed deaf mute to “shove it”? I hoped anyone else she shoved that stupid clipboard at would see my big fat zero and inspire them to do the same. =)

I stopped in Melide for a nice long lunch break. I ordered pizza, which may not have been the worst pizza I ever ate, but it would definitely be there near the bottom of the list. I read a bit from my Kindle to kill some time, when Hilary and Brent came in—neither of which I’d seen for weeks! Hilary seemed as surprised to see me there as I was to see her, so I walked with them for the next couple of hours. Actually, I mostly walked with Hilary—Brent went on ahead as Hilary and I caught up on each other’s adventures. Hilary also told me about seeing my note for Karolina to check her email at one of the alburgues and was the one who actually gave Karolina the message when their paths had crossed.

While walking with Hilary, I caught up with Nancy and her friends, Jeanne and MaryK, who’d been hoping to see me all day in order to take pictures of themselves walking down the trail. The day before, I’d been talking to them about “action shots” of people walking down the trail, and I guess the idea percolated with them since then since now they wanted me to take photos of them walking down the trail with their camera.

“You realize,” I pointed out, “that anyone can take your photos, right? You didn’t actually need me for that!” But I found the whole thing amusing anyhow. =)

Nancy gave me her iPhone for the photos, and the three of the started walking down the trail.

“Cut!” I yelled. “That’s not going to work. The sun is behind you guys and you just look like silhouettes. Let’s have you walking in the other direction.”

So they turned around and started walking along the trail in the wrong direction. “Looks good!” I said, and I clicked a button and the iPhone turned off.

“I think I did something wrong,” I told them.

Hilary grabbed the phone from me. “Let me do it,” she said. She seemed to know how to work those infernal devices, and I let her have the phone. The girls started walking again and Hilary took a series of shots. Click! Click! Click! Looked like a paparazzi! =)

Nancy must not have heard all the clicking going on, though, because after Hilary finished, Nancy suggested that maybe we should take “another” one. “Don’t worry about that,” I replied, “Hilary probably got a half a dozen of them!” She was very efficient. *nodding* =)

Then I wanted my own action shots of them with me in the photo, so I gave Hilary my camera and took some more photos.

I caught up with Kathy and Jen in Castaneda, who were happy when I reported that the other Australian girls I had seen only an hour earlier. They weren’t far behind, and sure enough, they showed up in short order. A couple of them went into the bar to order drinks and got sucked into a Spanish soap on the TV. Erin stayed outside and pulled out her ukulele—a small instrument, but remarkably large for hiking with. But it wasn’t the size that surprised me—it was that I had no idea at all she had even been carrying it. She hadn’t taken it out before, and you’d have thought I’d have noticed her carrying something so large.

So she played the uke a bit, which sounded quite pleasant, and I watched fascinated. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play that. Or a guitar. And when I told her that, she kept insisting how easy it was and told me she was giving me a lesson whether I liked it or not. =) Okay, she wasn’t that forceful about it, but she did push me into lesson showing me a few chords—at least after she had to explain what a chord was because frankly, I didn’t know. I’d heard the term before, but it meant nothing to me. And I took a whack at “Hallelujah.” It wasn’t pretty, without a doubt, but I was more determined than ever to learn how to work these darned contraptions someday.

Eventually, the Australian girls and I headed back out in search of a place to camp. We found some nice pine trees a few kilometers out of town and set up camp among them. In the pine trees were wonderful—a nice, thick layer of pine needles is my favorite ground to sleep on. So soft and cushy. Better than a mattress. =) It also made setting up my tarp a lot easier with plenty of tree to hang it from. Setting up the tarp was definitely a necessity this time—the air was already spitting out an occasional drop of rain and rain was most definitely in the forecast overnight.

One of the girls dared me to read a chapter from 50 Shades of Grey aloud. They didn’t think I’d have the guts to, but oh, yes, I did. No problem! So I took my turn reading, covering two chapters of Anna trying to decide if she would or would not sign the contract and a sexual encounter or two. The girls apparently thought my reading of it was absolutely hilarious, especially as I read one of the sex scenes. The book is told from the point of view from a woman, so the sex scenes are from the point of view of a women, but they said when I read it aloud, it made the scene sound like two gay men having an encounter. “That’s funny,” I reminded them, “I always thought they sounded kind of Australian myself! Straight Australians, though…” =)

After two chapters, though, my mouth was getting dry and tired so I handed the book off for one of the other girls to continue reading before we finally all went to sleep for the night.

We follow yellow arrows a lot, and we follow scallop shells a lot,
but scallop shells formed into a yellow arrow? Brilliant! =)

I don’t really know what this is. An oversized bird house?

Pilgrims on their way into Melide.

On our way out of Melide, we heard really loud music which was coming
from here. The trail continues on the back side of this makeshift stage.
It was, according to signage, an “orquestra feminina” and
a “Chicas Show.” I’m all in favor of chica shows! =)

Pilgrims at a fruit stand along the trail. Emily, one of the Australian girls,
is the one with both her knees wrapped. That always made it easy
to identify her from a distance. =) Erin is the person half chopped off
on the right. I don’t know who the guy in the photo is.

I stage an “action shot” with Nancy, Jeanne and MaryK (from right to left).

 

The Australian girls stop on the trail to pick figs.

I set up my tarp close enough to the tent
so I could hear them reading 50 Shades at night, but
as it turned out, I’d be reading a couple of chapters myself! =)