Meseta
You are vast
Meseta
Mountain-rimmed
Wide
You feel
Barren and desolate
To me
Even
Your rich tilled soil
You are miles
Meseta
Dying plants
Autumnal
Leeching color
From the Road
Cold wind
Sharp slapping
Across a
Flat terrain
You are monotony
Meseta
So much ochre
So much sienna
Sameness
Your sideways rain and solitude
Cut like razors
Into me
As I walk you
Trying to be grateful
~ Cheryl Murfin, on the Camino de Santiago
From Camino Journal, October 2018
I wasn't expecting the emotional impact of the Meseta Central, the vast plateau we are trudging across at the moment. It feels dead to me even though it is largely farmland, the soil is deep-colored and vast and I imagine all is lush here in spring and summer.
But, not now. Fall is fully upon us and the only sight for miles and miles is dirt and rotting flower and vegetable stumps left after harvest. Even with the sun still out in the afternoons, the weather has turned cold and the wind is sharp. Today I wore every item of clothing I brought with me and still the cold penetrated to the bone. It was hard not to think ahead, to the mountains where snow is threatening.
"Did you hear it's snowing the mountains?" the worry flew around the table during our nightly pilgrim dinner.
"I heard they are shutting down albergues early because of the weather."
No one wants to take the longer, lower road around the mountains adding a day or more to the walk. We are tired of walking. But our friends Josip and Meda just sent Joe a video of themselves sloshing through melting snow two days walk ahead of us, bags covering their trail shoes. The trek was awful, they reported.
Joe and I did not bring rain or snow gear. We are walking in trail runners and Joe is stressed about what walking for miles in the wet and cold will do to our injuries (shin splints and tendonitis) and to our toes. Even so he's trying to stay positive. For now we are fine and who knows what the weather will do by the time we hit the mountains.
Conversations help get the mind off the cold and monotony of the Meseta. Thankfully, we've connected with a handful of wonderful people over the last few days and just when I want to plunk down and quit, one or two of them seems to show up beside me on the Road or at a coffee stop. Soon we've picked up our sticks and are back on the path, deep in conversation. These conversations are very helpful in keeping Joe's mood light.
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