After we left Hontanas on Tuesday, I realized that I need to get new shoes. Boots would take too long to break in, but hiking sandals will be more forgiving. The boots that I bought from REI simply don't fit me right. I have tried everything I can to make them work, but they don't. So, I'll be returning them when I get home. I plan to mail them to myself in Santiago, so I don't have to carry them the whole way. Right now, it's nearly 9am, so I just have to wait an hour or so for the sporting goods store to open. If that doesn't work, then Sahagún (pop 170,000) will surely have many shoe stores - and we already have our bus tickets to get there today.
The nice lady at the albergue in Hontanas said that the next town that would have a shoe store was about 10K down the road, so on Tuesday I limped along to get there. When we arrived, it was apparent that there was no shoe store there. Someone said that the next town, another 10K, would have one. So, I limped along some more. Guess what? No shoe store there either. Still, another town would have one, a little further down the road. So on Wednesday, we walked another 25K and still no shoe store, but we saw a sign for CaminoSport in Carrion, and the sandals I want are on their poster, so we knew that would work. Yesterday, we walked the last 11K to Carrion, and arrived just before 10am when all the stores should open...but they didn't.
I went into a cafe to inquire, and returned to report, "It's a holiday - their patronal feast day - the Virgen de Piedad - all the stores are closed." I couldn't believe it that we came all this way, and there actually is a store here, but it's closed today!
So, we deliberated over coffee our choices. We could continue walking (not an option for me anymore); we could take a bus to Sahagún (50K and a large city, so sure to have a shoe store); or we could stay in Carrion for the night. We decided to take the bus. While we were waiting, we noticed that the man at the next table had purchased a ticket at the cafe, so Wendell went inside to inquire. He returned and flatly stated, "The bus is full." We waited for the once daily bus to arrive to be sure that it was indeed full. I watched as one pilgrim nearly fell at the driver's feet, begging him to let her sit on the step. He refused. I told Wendell that I was certainly not capable of begging any better then her, so we'd better just spend the night here. Apparently, this is where God wanted us to be. Since it was the patronal feast day, there was a procession through the town, in which we took part. There was also a Mass in the evening, which we attended. After the Mass, the Priest invited pilgrims to come forward for a blessing. It was a Spirit-filled time, as most of the people at the Mass were pilgrims, and we all shared where we are from. We prayed together, then came forward individually for a laying-on of hands and blessing by the Priest. I feel full, now. This is why I could not buy shoes in those other towns, and why it was a holiday, and why the bus was full. The Camino always gives you what you need!
