Day 9: Navarette - Azofra, 23.3 km.
Every day is a new day and how one feels on the Camino the day before does not necessarily inform how you will feel when you wake up. That’s part of the Mystery of the Camino. Marina's ankle and many of my aches and pains healed over night, as I keep experiencing. I'm thrilled I am recovering so quickly.
Today, we woke feeling rested and ready for the day. AND we stayed feeling good and strong the entire day. Not "skipping at the end of the day into Azofra" good, but "western movie swagger into town" (in my mind) good.
This country is all about its wine and the entire day was hiking through vineyards. And since red wine activates my super powers, it's no surprise I'm feeling good here. We walked through a weekend festival in Najera, which was great fun. The town just didn't have the vibe we wanted though so we pressed on.
As we were leaving town, I noticed 2 men standing in a doorway and picked up a vibe that set my “spidey senses” on alert. The street was deserted, and once passed I felt their eyes on my back. I consciously chose to turn and let them know I knew they were there. I made eye contact and held it, then turned and kept walking. Marina and I discussed our options and shared our concerns. We were now out of town, in farm country, with no humans, no traffic on the street, no place to run, to hide, or to get help. So we had no choice but to press on. After about 20 minutes, a lone pickup truck approached speeding from behind us, coming from that town. It raced passed and there was no way to know if it was these same men. After another 15 minutes, it came speeding back from in front of us. Both times it just raced by. As you can imagine, all our senses were on alert.
We still had no other options so we just kept walking. We crested the top of a hill, and looking down and across the fields, there was a farmer working in the field up to our left. We looked a bit farther and there was another farmer working in his fields to the right. We literally looked at each other with such relief, like we had been holding our breath and waiting to exhale. We had this amazing moment of such relief. Upon review, it’s interesting to realize how palpable energy is. There were 2 strangers behind us who’s vibe put us on high danger alert. There were now 2 strangers in front of us that eased our nervous system and made us feel completely safe and protected.
As we walked on, a small cloud burst opened up and a rainbow appeared. The sense of gratitude we had in that moment is hard to express. We were giddy walking these last 5km and practically danced into Azofra.
Azofra is a farming village of 300, charming and welcoming, this is the experience we were looking for. Dinner and vino tinto in town with the locals was so much fun. This day was a very good day!!
Note: I am posting this after I’ve completed the Camino, I can tell you honestly this was the only time during the entire Camino experience that I had any concern for my personal and property safety. It’s important to be smart, and aware of your surroundings, always. The Camino is no different than any other moment in life.
