"All aboard!" said Captain Mario.
Well, not exactly.
Yesterday, as part of our hike to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, we had to cross Rio Miño, separating the Spanish and Portuguese border.
Upon approaching the station where we had to reserve a taxi boat, we noticed a sign in small letters.
“Closed.”
What started as a well planned out day, slowly turned into a scene from the show, Lost.
Finding a 🚙 to hitchhike across towns has been a relatively easy task to accomplish, but finding a 🛶… 😂 😂
I turned to my friend and said, “Alright, we need to find a fisherman. There are no ferries or taxi boats available today.”
Katrin Schnellrieder must have thought, “This guy is crazy. Where is he going to find a fisherman at this hour?”
After walking backward on Camino de Santiago, along the water, we noticed no fishermen in the water.
Who knew that most fishermen would be fishing during the morning and not late afternoon? 😂
I turned to my friend again and said, “I will go find us a boat.”
Not speaking any Portuguese, I went into the nearest neighborhood and started knocking on doors.
After knocking on many doors, I eventually ran into two older ladies.
It felt that the tides were turning.
However, finding them was one thing.
Communicating my needs in a language I didn’t speak was another.
I thought to myself, “How can I tell them that I am looking for a boat?”
I started by breaking down the process.
First, I showed them the general swimming motion 🏊♂️
They nodded their heads in agreement.
Then, I started to row an imaginary boat while standing in place 🚣♂️
Finally, I made the walking motion with my fingers while repeating, “Camino de Santiago, Camino de Santiago, Camino de Santiago.”
This would have been one of the best stand-up comedy shows if captured on video.
“Un moment,” said one of the ladies as she began her rounds around the neighborhood.
She knocked on fellow fisherman’s door, screamed other fishermen names to wake them up.
But, no fishermen were to be found anywhere.
Then, moments later, I heard a loud scream.
The other woman was making rounds of her own and had come across an older gentleman named, “Captain Mario.”
I tried not to judge, but I was a bit concerned seeing an 85 year old man with textile house slippers, which he lost multiple times on the way to the car, taking us across open waters without much prior boating experience.
But, there were no other options (okay, okay, yes there were such as staying a night at a hostel. But, what’s the fun in that? 😂)
So, we boarded Captain Mario’s car and went to the pier where the taxi boat was docked.
Upon arrival to the dock, I noticed another gentleman working on the boat.
I felt relieved as at least we had someone with experience behind the wheel.
But, moments later, I was proven wrong, as I saw “Captain Mario” climb on board of the boat while losing his slippers again 😂(as my good friend, Thomas taught me over the years, “Challenge your own assumptions and expectations”)
Once again, I hesitated about getting on board, but decided to anyway.
Within minutes, we were in open water, holding for our dear lives 😂 😂 😂
As we approached the other side of the river, I felt relieved.
“We are here.”
We got off the boat and helped push “Captain Mario” back into the open water.
But, I guess the adventure didn’t reach its end just yet.
As we turned around, beginning our hike, I heard “Captain Mario” experience some problems with starting the boat.
I couldn’t help, but laugh at the whole situation.
Luckily, across the river, there was a group of fishermen.
Both, Katrin and I started doing jumping jacks, while “Captain Mario” screamed, “Hey! Help!”
As the fishermen made their way toward us, I asked “Captain Mario,” “Are you okay?”
His response, “Chill.”
I was more afraid for “Captain Mario” than he was for himself 😂 😂 😂
Moments later, he was hooked onto the other fishermen’s boat and towed back.
This must have been one of the easiest 14€ “Captain Mario” has ever made in his life.
This was definitely the most humorous 14€ we’ve ever spent.
How do you find humor during times of adversity?
