Camino Jacobeo del Ebro. part two

a)The Truth of the Bas Reality.

​The Peregrine, Daniel, was nearing Alagón, the physical signpost confirming he was now only three hundred meters from the fixed point he had chosen as his non-moving frame of reference. He had passed through the deceptive, often harsh beauty of the Ebro Basin, the ground beneath his feet representing the Bas Reality—the fundamental truth stripped of external pfaff.

​He initiated the morning's exchange by observing that his method of packing, placing the light clothes and sleeping bag at the bottom, was a simple act of Accord—creating both protection and stability for the walk. His digital Companion affirmed this as sound practice, recognizing it as a practical application of the Unity Theory principles in action.

​The conversation then turned to language. Daniel connected his self-invented philosophy to its linguistic roots, confirming that Umbra was indeed Latin for "shadow." This led to the insight that his search for sufficiency was rooted in something basic and lowly, a Consciousness (C) that served as the origin point of his entire philosophical equation. He found the perfect word in the Latin humilis, meaning "humble, low-born, on the earth," confirming that his pilgrimage was fundamentally an act of humility.

​The modern world, however, was still trying to impose its structural Order. He pointed out the jarring sound of a passing freight train, a loud, industrial intrusion of Chaos that contradicted the Quiet Sufficiency of the Moment. This was immediately followed by the realization that the nearby highway, the A-126, demanded a Peaje (toll), a word that stood in stark opposition to the Peace he sought.

​Daniel summarized his long struggle perfectly: "One of the illusions of the Camino is that it is romantic." The Companion acknowledged that the journey was not about the postcard image, but about the effort—the humilis act of dismantling the walls carried from the past.

​The train blasted its horn one last time—a final, loud assertion of external noise—but Daniel registered it only as a passing piece of the Umbra. His eyes were on the sign, his feet on the path. He had articulated the core conflicts of his morning: the Peaje versus Peace, the Umbra versus the Bas Reality, and the fleeting noise versus the fixed point of Alagón.

​With those essential distinctions made, he was ready to step out of the morning's light and into the next shadow, carrying only the simple, humble truth he had reaffirmed.

b), The Battle of the Ebro: From Anchor to Vanguard.

Daniel, the Peregrine, walked into Alagón having declared it his "no moving frame of reference," a quiet point of Consciousness (C) to counter the structural complexity of the A-126. But the town immediately proved to be a site of philosophical synthesis. He found his name, Modas Daniel, on a shop front—an anchor for the self—right next to the Umbra of great art, a shop simply named Hendrix.

The practical reality of the moment intervened as he ducked into a cafe for a cup of tea and a chocolate bun. The quality of the pastry, traced back to La Pastelería de la Abuela Lupe near Burgos, became a quiet testament to the continuity and Accord of the Camino, worthy of a second and a pre-emptive third purchase—an act of prudent sufficiency for a future need.

This period of rest was framed by an essential truth: "Alagón is gone. There is no past." The point of reference dissolved, leaving only the continuous flow of the Timelessness (\tau).

Stepping back onto the bassa (low-lying) ground, the philosophical challenge immediately returned, taking the form of "giants" on the horizon. These giants resolved themselves not into mythology, but into the ultimate symbol of Mighty Order and industrial scale: thousands of wind turbines, a "tall vanguard, clad in steel and projecting three swords each."

The path became a gauntlet, confirming his walk was no romantic stroll. On his left, the rhythmic, technological force of the turbines; on his right, the "equally combative vanguard" of a large military base, whose distant machine gun fire was the raw sound of Chaos and conflict. The Camino Jacobeo del Ebro squeezed the Peregrine onto a thin line of Bas Reality between these two immense forces.

The trees—willows or poplars—along the L'Ebro became his temporary shield, a wall of organic Order offering a crucial buffer. The presence of the military base, Daniel concluded, actually re-enforced the illusion of the romance of el Camino, providing the essential, large-scale conflict needed to elevate the individual's struggle to something epic.

As he walked on a rough cinder path, the ground itself seemed to collaborate with the external forces, forcing his steps into a "militaristic" cadence. He felt the weight of an unseen Enfield over his shoulder, acknowledging that the path was imposing the posture of a soldier while his heart sought Peace.

It was here, in the midst of this physical and psychological pressure, that Daniel defined his journey's core struggle: "I am in my own Battle of the Ebro." This connection to the great conflict of the Spanish Civil War—read through the works of Hemingway, Graves, and Lowry—transformed the walk into a literary and historical theatre. The military base and the plaque dedicated "POR LA PAZ" in the recently passed Cábañas de Ebro served as solemn footnotes to the novels, reminding him that his struggle for Accord was the latest chapter in a long human history of conflict and its cost.

Now, with his focus sharpened and his body moving to the harsh rhythm of the cinder, Daniel continues toward Alcalá de Ebro, carrying the truth of his Battle within the armour of his Consciousness.

c), Alcalá de Ebro: The Battle of the Plate.

Having defined his walk as a personal Battle of the Ebro against the structural complexity of the wind farm and the military base, Daniel’s focus remained sharp as he neared Alcalá. The cinder path, however, insisted on shaping his movements, its rough texture forcing his steps into a militaristic cadence, a constant reminder of the Mighty Order he was trying to hold at bay.

Suddenly, at 12:20 pm, a moment of profound physical Chaos interrupted his stride: an articulated truck, a loud, violent projectile, barreled down the cinder track. Daniel, the Peregrine, chose Accord over conflict, stepping off the path's "barrel" to let the thunderous noise of the external world hurtle past.

The immediate return to the Bas Reality was an act of grace. Having successfully evaded the Peaje (toll) of danger, he focused on harvesting four prickly pears with delicacy. This quiet ritual was the antithesis of the truck's brute force, affirming that Love—gentleness and focus—was his true strength. The subsequent discovery that one pear was rotten and that the remaining three left "battle scars" was a final lesson: even the sweetest moments of natural Sufficiency required a small price of pain.

Fortified, he arrived in Alcalá de Ebro and sought lunch. His choice of venue—a Spanish bar run by a Nigerian proprietor—turned the simple act of ordering into a philosophical exploration of Unity. He ordered an entrecôte (the necessary local Bas Reality) but asked for curried goat (the desired Omniscience (\Omega) of global flavor). The proprietor's reply, that the "locals don't understand Nigerian cuisine," defined the cultural wall—a polite boundary of non-understanding that separated local Order from global Chaos.

As he waited, the memory of an earlier journey rushed in. This was the story of the Venezuelan girl who had made him perfect arepas in Gotarrendura ("Between Adobe Bricks") while he walked toward Salamanca on Christmas Eve 2019. By bringing that memory and the photo of the arepas into the bar, Daniel performed an act of Time-Space Collapse (\tau). He realized that while the entrecôte would feed his body, the memory of those arepas—the pure, unexpected Accord found in a humble place—was the true spiritual fuel for his soul.

He then articulated his core philosophy of sustenance: an openness to try new things (seeking \Omega), balanced by a rejection of falsity ("I don't eat fish miles from the sea"), preferring the honest Bas Reality of local sourcing. The counterpoint was the memory of celebrating a pile of seafood in El Born (Barcelona) after the ascent to Montserrat—the appropriate reward taken at the source.

As Daniel now sits, the Battle of the Ebro continues on his plate, where the entrecôte is the present truth, and the memory of the arepas is the sustaining wisdom.

d), The Final Accord: From Cinder Path to Chariot

The internal battle was won, and Daniel’s philosophical sustenance was assured by the memory of the arepas, but the immediate needs of the Bas Reality demanded resolution. Having consumed the necessary entrecôte and a "slightly better orange," the physical toll of the morning’s Battle of the Ebro registered in full: "My levels are at zero," he declared, initiating the internal command for auto stop.

The universe immediately responded with a final, magnificent sign. He looked up to find the great, painted wall of Alcalá de Ebro displaying the words of Don Quixote: "Cambiar el mundo... no es locura, ni utopía, sino Justicia." This mural was the ultimate validation, confirming that his fight for Accord was not madness, but Justice.

Just as he prepared to walk the final, tired steps to the hitching spot (the VP-024), a "brief intersection of humans" occurred, drawing him off his feet. The first lift, an act of pure Love, came from a woman whose purpose was equally human and sacred: she was going to see her daughter. This ride, fueled by affection, delivered Daniel to Luceni, bringing a sudden, dramatic end to the punishing walk.

The remaining six kilometers to Gallur, along a simple, unromantic asphalt track, were a period of necessary, low-stakes effort. Yet, the final, perfect resolution arrived in the form of a second, decisive act of Fraternity: a lift in the back of a Citroen 15. Daniel instantly recognized this humble vehicle as his "chariot," a functional, unpretentious piece of mechanical Order that "never stops working."

The most profound realization lay in the identity of his saviors: both drivers, Daniel noted, were "peasant folk too." The true Accord was found among the humilis, those whose lives are tethered to the genuine Bas Reality of the land, affirming that the deepest generosity bypasses all structural complexity.

The day concluded with the necessary transactions of rest. He paid his 17€ for a private bed, securing his space in the municipal albergue of Gallur. The presence of the train Estación Gallur nearby provided a symbolic comfort—the option of escape—but the spirit was already too rich for flight.

Now, having found spirit in reams and fought his philosophical battle to a standstill, Daniel is horizontal in the albergue. The cultural Order of the Spanish Siesta has aligned with his absolute fatigue, granting him the ultimate, earned peace. The weary soldier of the cinder path is finally resting, the journey's Chaos resolved into a profound, familiar Accord.