Day 8 – One week on the Way | The Analogue Project by Oleñka

From Viana to Logroño.

11,5kms. 2,5h.

Today, the Way wasn’t going to be full of kms. The time has come to rest my feet, so I did a short stage, but full of beautiful encounters and celebrations.

What am I celebrating ? Today 16 of may, it’s been a week I’ve been on the Way of Saint James. A week ago, it began at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port ; Cédric Hernandez did a beautiful report about these first moments. And I’m still here.

So today I’ll dedicate my lines to show you these moments, words, anecdotes, but most of all one picture that has never left me today : the Way.

I heard by chance someone listening to it and it became the anthem : “Si quieres cambio verdadero, camina distinto” by Calle 13 (“If you want a real change, walk differently”).

Cheers for all of this, cheers to all of those who laughed or cried these last days with my stories and we stay in touch here…

Anecdotes of the Way :

Las chicas solidarias: INT. Hostal. 18h.

Enters a chinese pilgrim : Free bed ?

Attendant 1 : No, sorry.

Pilgrim : Oh, thank you.

In front of me, two pilgrims were having a dinner. They watch each other, chat a while and one of them stands up.

Attendant 2 to Attendant 1 : Hey, this girl says there’s a free bed.

Attendant 1 : How is it possible, if we accounted an hour ago ?

Attendant 2 : (after checking the room with the girl) : It’s ok ! The girls told me her bed was free because she was going to sleep with her friend !

Attendant 1 : How so, in the same bed ?

Attendant 2 : So it seems.

Attendant 1 : Together in the same bed ?

The two attendants look at them, incredulous.

Attendant 2 : Well.

Attendant 1 : Well… miss it’s ok : there is indeed a free bed.

And the Chinese pilgrim had a roof that night.

The Pilgrim on the phone: INT. Hostal. 21:45.

In a dining room, a pilgrim talks to the phone:

– Yes, yes, I hang up.
(15 minutes later…)
– I wanted to tell you about the picture I sent to you – yes, the one with the boots – weel, this is because we have to take off the shoes at the entrance and we have to let them at some place, but nobody never steals anything… Aha, the other picture is the dinning room : all of this is so beautiful : we eat together, we serve each other… Yes, yes, I hang up… ah, wait, I didn’t tell you that I met a praiseworthy person. He’s doing the Way for the forth time. He fulfils a promise because his wife and daughter were about to die and he promised he would do the Way if they survived. He knows very well the Way. I’ll try to stay with him as much as I can…
(He keeps away the phone from the ear and say something to some pilgrim passing by)
– Yes, sorry, it’s because there’s this guy who was about to quit because of this knee, and I promised him I’ll inject him one of my steroids… He’s going to be like new…
(at 22:30, the pilgrim was still on the phone)

Moments of the Way