Flying Like an Eagle

Puenta de Reina to Estrella

In the middle of the night, I fell out of bed and somehow managed to karate chop the unfortunate Wolfgang across the throat.  He wasn´t happy but in the morning, he accepted my apology with good humour.

When we arrined in Lorca, I remembered that Estrella was just around the corner and only a couple of kilometres away at most

I remembered incorrectly and it was in fact 7.5 km.  This was the hardest part of the camino so far.  Not only was it further than expected we were to walk through the not so beautiful village of Villatuerta, alongside a motorway and through an industrial estate.

I felt tired and my rucksack seemed to have gained an extra 12 kg, I noticed the pains in my feet, and I no longer was able to walk in harmony alongside Birgette.  She suddenly stopped and pointed out an eagle, soaring in the sky high above us.  We watched it fly past and Birgette sang Fly like an Eagle. My pack felt lighter, the tension in my shoulders disappeared and we able to walk together in tandem.

I was later to learn from Jack an expert ornothogolist from Canada that the bird was probably a Griffin Vulture.

I was slightly frustrated, as I had been unable to find an onion with which to cook the evening meal.  But, Iwas confident that i would meet a wonderful person who would present me with a lovely fresh onion.

The first person I met in Estrella was delghtful young woman called Aoife.  I introduced myself and we chatted about walking with her grandfather, Canadian food and her trip to visit ´her people¨ in Ireland. Within a minute, she was able to present me a lovely fresh onion.  I had told Birgette that i intended to marry the person who gave me the onion, but i don´t think I would have made Aoife happy.

And later she wrote me a fabulous poem.