The New Friend and Family Member

8:47 PM, July 24, Carrion de los Condes, Palencia, At a table in the Cafe Bar Espana

Since Logrono, my Camino Family and I had been staying in all of the same albergues as two Germans, a girl and a guy. Both were very young-looking—younger than me, even—but even though we always seemed to be in the same place, the getting-to-know-them phase was slow.

In the town before Burgos, we discovered that, while we guessed they were either siblings or romantically entangled, they are just school friends and that the girl is very homesick and is leaving from Burgos to return home. The guy introduced himself as Dan, and seemed eager to hang out with us. He’s 19 and speaks very good English.

Leaving Burgos, Lida went by bus because she had a fever, and after the first 9-kilometer stretch, Dan caught up to Lisa and I having breakfast. We walked the rest of the day together. His English is so good because he spent his freshman year of high school in America (great year to experience America, right?).

He’s going to Santiago, and plans to get there on the 10th, a day after I plan to arrive. He also walks just as fast as I do, and we can pace with each other (at a speed of almost 6 km per hour! Wow!). While my girls are leaving on Wednesday from Leon—and, truly, they are irreplaceable on this journey and I will miss them badly—at least I will be able to continue on with Dan.

Because Dan and I got into Carrion de los Condes so much earlier than Lisa and Lida, the girls must have checked into a different albergue than us (ours, by the way, is another convent run by nuns. It’s fascinating.). This is the first night in two weeks that I’m not staying with them and it’s sort of weird, but it’s okay. I miss them, but I know I will pass them on the Road tomorrow!