Camino Ignaciano: Venta de Sta Lucia to Bujaraloz (Day 10)
Day 10: Venta de Sta Lucia to Bujaraloz
Stage 8 of the Camino
Stage 8 of the Camino
The previous night, our guide, Ignacio, tells us that today's walk will be through a desert! I spent the night imagining walking through a sandy desert under the hot scorching sun with no living being or structure in sight. It felt both scary and exciting at the same time.
Morning came and we boarded the bus as usual. Leaving the Ebro region, the bus traveled along the highway and after some time, we stopped in the middle of nowhere. In front of us was a two-storey cream and gray building. The sign read "Venta Santa Lucia". There was no other building or house in sight.
It was a restaurant and it was to be the starting point of our walk. Many of us quickly went to the rest rooms, as we were warned that this would be the only building we would encounter for the next couple of hours. Somehow, taking the call of nature in a wide open desert, where there were no trees or bushes to hide behind, didn't seem like a good idea.
We started walking. It was very different from the desert I had in mind. There were no sand dunes, no camels and no cacti. Rather, it was a very arid land, flat with dry bushes, scorched grass and a lot of dust. Occasionally, we would come across some "ruins" -- that is, small structures which have been left neglected and abandoned. But aside from that, there was nothing to see.
Our guides did warn us that it would be boring. Nothing of the spectacular mountain scenery, quaint villages or even busy highways. The long walk (14 kilometers in all) was through the Monegros Desert, a semi-arid land which was prone to extreme drought.
Our guide German said that boring is good. His thinking was, it is so easy to get distracted by the sights and sounds along the Camino. But when those sights and sounds fade, then you are forced to face yourself. As I trudged along, I thought about this. Indeed, it would be a good time for reflection.
But that didn't happen for me. No major insights about myself, no coming-to-terms with a forgotten past. While the physical conditions we were in was grueling, I felt very much at peace with myself. I don't mean that I didn't have any problems or concerns. But I guess deep inside me, I believed that all would be well. Just like the conditions around me that time, though harsh, can still yield beauty and calm.
Morning came and we boarded the bus as usual. Leaving the Ebro region, the bus traveled along the highway and after some time, we stopped in the middle of nowhere. In front of us was a two-storey cream and gray building. The sign read "Venta Santa Lucia". There was no other building or house in sight.
It was a restaurant and it was to be the starting point of our walk. Many of us quickly went to the rest rooms, as we were warned that this would be the only building we would encounter for the next couple of hours. Somehow, taking the call of nature in a wide open desert, where there were no trees or bushes to hide behind, didn't seem like a good idea.
We started walking. It was very different from the desert I had in mind. There were no sand dunes, no camels and no cacti. Rather, it was a very arid land, flat with dry bushes, scorched grass and a lot of dust. Occasionally, we would come across some "ruins" -- that is, small structures which have been left neglected and abandoned. But aside from that, there was nothing to see.
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| A splash of red in an otherwise dry brown land |
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| A scorching sun beating down on us. Surprisingly, they still have some type of agriculture in this arid land. See those neatly plowed land? |
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| "Ruins" along the way. These were the only structures where the Camino sign could be seen. See the orange arrow? |
Our guides did warn us that it would be boring. Nothing of the spectacular mountain scenery, quaint villages or even busy highways. The long walk (14 kilometers in all) was through the Monegros Desert, a semi-arid land which was prone to extreme drought.
 |
| As we went further, the land became more and more like a desert. Here, a lone tree in the otherwise barren land. |
Our guide German said that boring is good. His thinking was, it is so easy to get distracted by the sights and sounds along the Camino. But when those sights and sounds fade, then you are forced to face yourself. As I trudged along, I thought about this. Indeed, it would be a good time for reflection.
But that didn't happen for me. No major insights about myself, no coming-to-terms with a forgotten past. While the physical conditions we were in was grueling, I felt very much at peace with myself. I don't mean that I didn't have any problems or concerns. But I guess deep inside me, I believed that all would be well. Just like the conditions around me that time, though harsh, can still yield beauty and calm.
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| Trudging along with resolve |
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