8

            .As they were crisscrossing and backtracking the center of Sarria,, population 13,000,  all of a sudden he just started pulling ahead of her some ten feet. Since they were talking she broke into a trot just to keep up the conversation."Hey,  slow down a bit." she said, and he did, but in a couple of minutes was  back striding ahead talking with his back to her.. She  would have to take it up to a gallop to keep up. What am I doing? She slowed down and took  it down to a comfortable, brisk  gate..

            "Hey, Free, would you slow down a tad ?" She called out , "This pilgrim has to take two steps for every one of yours lol.." To quote one of their online quips where he had typed back, "sure, what's the rush? This isn't a marathon."

            Sean stopped and turned around, a head  above the scattered local men passing by. him  Now if you could just imagine him 10,  naybe15 pounds less, and no double chin....maybe a little bit longer hair. Never the less, a  boyish charm reflected back at her, him with his red ruck sack on his back and Camino hat on, as he turned half way to her with his Brierley's Pilgrim's Guide  open in his hands like a prayer book.

            "I'm known for walking ahead of women at home.'

            "Charming. Is that why you're "freeagain"? His username on the film site.

            He laughed with self depreciative humor. She caught up with him and this time he tried to curb his Achilles' heels.as they wandered about looking for the right street and the Casa Mathias. Finally they found the right street but walked up and down three times before she noticed the inconspicuous sing over a doorway.

            Nobody answered the doorbell, till to their surprise an attractive woman's head popped out from the small photo shop next door.

            "Moment " she said disappearing back inside.. In a minute she  was out of the shop with the keys . Inside a conversation began about the room and price in an odd mixture of repeated phrases, gestures, English words attempted to sound Spanish by putting an "o" at the end of them,  till finally Sean's knowledge at least of the numbers in Spanish came in handy, She wished she had taken the time to print out at least some common phrases in Spanish.

            So they finally went up the narrow steps. The concierge got a set of keys out and Chloe knew instinctively she had misunderstood because  when they got to the room, it was clear she was assuming they would be sharing it. Sean picked up right away on the tone of her voice and took charge in communicating to their host that they wanted two swperate rooms. She went and got another pair of keys and opened up the next room cattycorner.. They were 20 euros each and as she was opening her wallet, Sean was already putting the euros in the woman's hands and blankly refused Chloe's money. Okay, so he wanted to be a man about it. She would accept.  She knew it had something to do with him telling her he felt bad she had to forlk out so much dough for the flight. Chloe stepped in to look at his room, both modest, each with a tiny bathroom and shower.. Then she said she was going back to her room and take a shower since she'd slept in these clothes on the plane.

            He looked at his watch and said, "Meet you in an hour?"

            "Sure" she said, feeling great thinking ahead of exploring the old town together. It would be a quick shower and marathon putting herself together. And sure enough, she was still drying her hair with a mini hair dryer she'd brought along  when he tapped  on the door. It was now an hour and ten minutes.  But she was put together enough, wearing the same clothes except for  a little cashmere sweater, buttoned up to the neck. It had dropped to chilly 50F outside. Her clean hair gave a silky feeling grazing her neck. Such a simple pleasure, such a luxury for free.

            It was very cool now and the streets were practically deserted; all the shops were closed. They meandered around looking for the old town clueless together..

            Then a cobble stoned path came into view; it cut a  across on a bridge over a little  river, a river that had it's banks built up like a canal as it flowed through town.. He said that this was the Camino, but it didn't really sink in for her that this was the pilgrim's path cutting through town here, coming from the Pyrenees, 400 miles to the east. There was a park like feel to the river and the esplanade that opened up down the steps from them. On the map they could see that here are two rivers in Sarria, but neither knew which one of the two this was. Not having any street signs to speak of was the main culprit

            The esplanade looked inviting with its iron fence along the river embellished in shell motives; restaurants on the ground floor of the even height, four story apartments overlooking the small rive, and line of trees across. A couple of local gals with long black hair bouncing on their backs, mini black skirts with leggings, quick stepped by them. The eateries were  closed but for a couple that still had tables out, and these looked like a place patronized by the locals. He was hungry, and though she felt okay, it sounded like a good idea to sit down among their host countrymen, and be face to face with one another for the first time at table.