After yesterday’s incident, I was ready to go home. That guy fucked up my mind and ruined the beautiful parts of this journey. But after a long phone call with Saudi Arabia, I decided to keep going. The night was hot, but not from partying. Since many hikers don’t carry sleeping bags, they get cold at night and keep the windows shut, so the rest of us must suffer because of them. The rooms were stuffy, and I didn’t sleep well. I got up at 6:30 and headed out with most of the others, which suited me just fine considering what had happened. I was still boiling with anger over that idiot, and I admit his face kept popping up in my head today.
The Almighty also made an appearance, but I immediately told him I was pissed off and it would be better for him to take a break for a few days until my blood cooled down. I told him to go to Scotland, where the amateur world championship is taking place, and keep an eye on my dear mother, who’s racing today in the time trial. And once he’s done there, he should head over to Slovenia and calm the damn rain down, since everything’s flooding[1].
The Sora River[2] from both Selška and Poljanska valleys[3] has flooded everything. Some places are cut off, without power or any connection. In Medvode[4], everything’s under water, the main road was closed for a few hours, cars are floating in the raging Sora, and it’s still raining. The red alert has been issued for all of Slovenia. The Devil’s Bridge[5] at the swimming spot collapsed, water at the confluence is reaching the arch, and near the power plant everything’s flooded. It’s worse than it was in 1990. Luckily, our house is still okay, but the town looks like fucking Venice. Pure horror. It’s hard to watch all of this unfold from far away, completely helpless. Fear and dread.
The Almighty had left on his path. He knew he’d fucked up and was taking too long to cure his hangover.
The walk itself was peaceful—just the way I like it. I did catch a cold, but the sun helped take care of that. On the trail today I met a woman from Canada with a surprisingly fast pace. We kept bumping into each other and ended up chatting at a bar. I noticed her skin was covered in bites—on her face, arms, back, neck. She said it wasn’t bedbugs but mosquitoes, and that she’s severely allergic. She’d run out of antihistamines, so I gave her one of mine—the ones I carry in case of a wasp sting, which can literally kill me. I asked if she had counted the bites, and she said she stopped at 120. I was in shock. I genuinely felt sorry for her. She said it all happened in one night, in the town of Gijón, and she just wanted to go home—she was itchy all over and didn’t feel very attractive. I told her I understood the itching, but as for appearances on the Camino, she shouldn’t give a fuck. If she made it this far, it would be a shame to quit now with so little left to go. She agreed, and we set off together again, each with our headphones in.
Since we’re nearing the end of the route, it’s getting harder to find places to stay, which means I’ll have to walk 48 km tomorrow and nearly 65 km the next day. Looks like it’s time to gear up for a 120 km stretch.
[1] In August 2023, major floods occurred in large part of Slovenia and neighbouring areas of Austria and Croatia due to heavy rain.
[2] Sora river - is a right affluent of the Sava River in western Slovenia. The Sora gathers its waters mainly from the Škofja Loka Hills.
[3] Seška and Poljanska valleys - two remote and picturesque valleys in the mountain region of NW Slovenia.
[4] Medvode - is a town in Slovenia known for its location at the confluence of the Sava and Sora rivers, giving it the name "between the waters".
[5] Devil’s Bridge – main bridge in Medvode.
