Camino Day 25 - October 1

If memory serves, my grandfather (McKenzie) drove a bread truck and delivered for Weston´s bakery for some time. I´m not sure what his routine was, but I´m sure he drove a bread truck..  (Mom - please correct the details in a comment below.. My memory of this is fuzzy)..

We experienced twice today what we have in a number of places so far - the bread truck. On our journey, we have eaten a LOT of bread. Bread is served with everything. And most people here either bake it or buy it it fresh every morning. This morning, as we were arriving in one community, we heard a series of several long blasts of a horn. ¨Bread truck,¨Rob said. And sure enough, along came a small pick-up with cap from one of the local bread shops. (Panenderia - bread shop, which is different from pasteleria - pastry shop).  People pour out of their houses with their bread money and wait on the street. The woman driving stopped for each person waiting, and sold them baguettes or large round loaves of crusty bread. Then off the truck goes with another series of horn blasts to let the next street know it´s on its way..

This afternoon, it was a slight variation.. Several long, loud blasts of the horn, followed by several long, loud blasts of a whistle.. It´s all very loud, and the trucks move very quickly, careening (sp?) through the streets.. Quite a lot of drama for something as simple as bread.. The Spanish word for bread is pan, and pronounced as it looks.. In observing the bread trucks today, Rob said that it is PANdemonium.. It really is.. And nice play on words to Rob!

It´s experiences like this that make the Camino so much fun for me. I´m definitely enjoying the history of the pilgrimage, the scenery, the towns, the people, the weather, and the food, but these little experiences like the bread truck make it all the more enjoyable and memorable..

We did also walk today, from Villadangos del Paramo to Astorga. I´m not entirely sure how far it was. One source we have said 26.5km, and other sources said 28 or 29 km. Either way, it was a long walk in hot sun. We were glad to arrive at Astorga, which is a really lovely city.. More about that later..

Many blessings to you all,

susan