Friday November 21st 2014 Roales del Pan 25 km.

 It’s 4.50 p.m. , Roales del Pan and I’m sitting here with half a meter bocadillo in the cafeteria next to the swimming pool. The cafetaria also serves as a community center. I ask a coffee, sharing the room with four card players who are very excited and a cantiniėrė who is too old for the mega tight pants that she wears. The pool is not being uses, otherwise I would take a dip.
What’s up today? Not much news to report. Most of it is repetition. Last night in Villanueva de Campean the posada of the lady was too chic for me. Yesterday she asked what I wanted for dinner. I said I had a lot of packages of instant meals that I wanted to finish. So I sat at the shiny polished table, still being dirty, with an aluminum package of instant food, on which I poured hot water. She could not stand it. You’ve lost weight, she said. How do you know that, I asked? I can see by your clothes. I didn’t loose weight, I thought. My fleece jacket is just enlarged because of all the things I’m wearing in the pockets, I thought, but oh, no discussion now. Jan’s Nijmegen or my Maastricht yesterday was enough discussion (about which one was the oldest Dutch city). We’ll discuss it some other day Jan K. Ha, ha. But don’t eat me then (!)                                                                                                            The landlady explained me this morning, “not to hurt you”, but next time that does not happen anymore, eating so poorly here. That puts down the standard of the Posada. I thought I should tell her that I am the lizard king, I can do everything (song by James Brown, I believe). But I thought she was just a little too young for my quotes of the musical idols of the 60s. Well, anyway I got a passionate farewell, after having freed Tosca and Leon from under their roof.
Except for corn and some dry bread Leon had no pienso (Sp. Food) and being hungry he pulled me to the side of the road all day and tore my shoulder just not anough to get it dislocated. When you consider that people already go to the doctor with shoulder pain because they have walked their tiny cauch-pet. Even though I don’t swim any more during this trip, my shoulders continue to grow in width because of Leon’s pulling to the grass. Tosca remains as boisterous and active as ever. Catches a mouse, and keeps busy half a day with it. His previous owner only walked her to the street corner. Now she is roaming free at least 30 km. each day. Tosca has discovered that it’s great fun hunting cattle and tackling a chicken; and that the fellow dogs here, that are used to scare wolves away from the sheep,  actually are quite a bit afraid of her and that smaller dogs are a little afraid of her too and you can also enjoy running after sparrows in the absence of rabbits. So for her, this is the journey of her life. Harry, animal torturer, they still called me a few months ago.
The worst thing every day are the moments of uncertainty. How do I pass, for God’s sake, through Zamora? But I’ve also become quite curious about this ancient cultural city. So I have mixed feelings. Dutch proverb: London and Paris are not built in one day. In Spain they say something the like about Zamora: some other city and Zamora are not built in una ora. Nice weather today.  I could walk all day with my sleeves rolled up. Easy path, only, the lady of the posada had informed after my goal for today, Montamarta, 36 km away, and she found out for me that the inn was not opened.  Then maybe better sleep in Zamora, but that’s just a chicken walk and besides, I can never get rid of Leon in cities. Holy sh… So I’ll sleep in the tent tonight, or I’ll just sleep outside. But then I’ll have to stop early because today Leon has eaten almost nothing , only the bits I allowed him to graze here and there along the way. In this barren landscape I won’t find any tree to fix him to. My tent may be forbidden and it will already be visible from kilometers away. Finally I called the municipality in Roales del Pan and I was promised that I could go to the local refugio (lower level than a hostel). Perfect, even with a shower, but no hot water!
Tosca I will smuggle inside tonight. I’ll be the only one there anyway. Leon is tied to a pole on a grassy area in the middle of the outskirts of the village and will be moved 10 m. before the night and meanwhile Tosca is curled up on the sidewalk on a board of carton outside. I still walked about 25 km today, though I originally had planned to walk some 10 km. more.
And now about Zamora. After the difficulties passing Salamanca I’m not easily impressed any more. I took a few pictures, made a short film and then passed on to the Plaza Mayor. In the middle of the Plaza Leon dropped the only card he could present. I pretended not seeing it, of course, and therefore walked on. Then I got lost. Tosca in one hand, Leon in the other, trying to read the road book, glasses off, posing in front of passers-by who wanted a picture of the pious pilgrim. Help, help, I can not do everything together. Buen camino. Si, si, gracias. Leon did not always understand that you have to stop for a pedestrian traffic light. Which way? Simply the busy main shopping street, straight north. Should be fine. I had fun and began to whistle nonchalantly. Until, on a corner, we were waiting at a zebra again, Leon couldn’t keep it up any longer. He is only just a horse. A man started shouting very mad at me when Leon for a moment relaxed his sphincter ani. I say: lo siento (I’m sorry). Then I saw that the barking guy had a cart with him and was one of the garbage collection. The red face of Pepe in “Asterix in Spain” was peanuts compared to him. Police was the only thing I understood. I thought before the police will be here, I’ll be out of town. But I had reckoned wrong. Three police cars were needed to make me stop. The first officer stopped me, while the 2nd one , who probably was higher in rank, asked my identity. I said, do not keep me up too long, because I have another 18 km. to go to Monte Marte and it’s past 2 p.m. allready. I have to call my colleague, the 2nd policeman said. That was no. 3 in the hierarchy. This number three had to call again his boss, the 4th one in line. An example of how the Spanish taxpayer pays four men, for what one can do. I didn’t explain that to them. Where do you live? In inns, egg, I thought. I’m not a tramp, you can see that I speak various languages, I have glasses! and I happened to be shaved and showered in the pousada. I said, do not make problems. In about 20 minutes. I’ll be out of town. Well, unfortunately for them, they had not caught a dangerous criminal.
This evening I had a nice experience. I went shopping in the local curiosity shop. Do you have pienso (dog food)? No, they did not. I just wanted to put on my nightgown (?) and … there was a knock on the door. A young couple brought me, after closing time of the stores, a free bag of dog’s food, arranged by mrs. Curiosity shop. Proudly the “he” showed me pictures of their husky on his cellphone: 1 year old, 28 kilos, blue eyes. It’ll be hot for a husky here in summer. I want a picture of you, I say. He eagerly took his chance to embrace his ole guappa well for the picture.
To return to earlier: the uncertainties are the most difficult for me. Where do I sleep? Where to find food and shelter for the animals? Does horse Leon keep this up? It seems so. I myself haven’t suffered physically yet. I could, I believe, cover 40 km a day without problems, but that does not happen because Leon sets the pace and 40 km. is hard to do during day time. And I’m not lonely, because I’m constantly trying to survive day by day: finding the route, watch where to put my feet in the mud, tying up Tosca in time when we pass a herd of sheep , ensure that Leon keeps walking and not always eats, occasionally reading a text message on my cell phone, keep an eye on the time, planning to buy food in a hamlet. In the evening buy and prepare food, updating my blog, grooming Leon. No time left. No solitude, though the company of my hermanos (brothers) and later Plien and Rob was very pleasant. Now I have to wait another month before someone will keep me company.