Camino de Santiago -- Part 14

September 17, 2024 marked day 15 on the Camino, my last full day before reaching the end. I was only about 60 miles from Santiago, so could have made it the rest of the way in one day. However, I was in no hurry. In fact, I was sorry my journey was coming to an end, so was happy to squeeze another day out of it. So, I set out with the goal of making it to Arzúa.

The journey to Arzúa was flat and quick. I recall it consisting of mostly rolling hills that were not too steep. I took side roads, so didn’t see other Pilgrims. It was a nice but uneventful ride. No news is good news.

I arrived at Arzúa in the early afternoon and got a room in the second Albergue I tried, which was called the Alerbgue del Peregrino. Peregrino is the word for pilgrim in Spanish. I killed some time doing laundry in the Albergue washer and dryer. After that, I spent more time eating a long dinner by myself and attending a pilgrims’ mass.

Sadly, I had no interactions with anyone that day. As I mentioned in part 13 of my story, I lot of pilgrims, especially Americans, started their journey in Sarria, just over 100 kilometers from Santiago, which is the minimum required to get a certificate. I could tell Arzúa had a lot of pilgrims wandering about who seemed to already be in their own groups.

I should mention that I heard on Facebook from a Vegas friend of mine doing the Portuguese Camino that large fires were raging in Portugal. This caused many pilgrims doing that route to make adjustments. I think many of them jumped ahead to avoid the smoke. The headline of La Voz de Galacia read “Horror y caosen Portugal con mas de 200 incendios,” which is pretty obvious to translate to English.

After wandering about after the mass, I wandered about, had a couple drinks and called it an early evening. I know this is a short chapter to my story, but day 15 was probably the most uneventful of the trip.

 

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Puzzle from Jan. 30, 2025

The king wants to marry off his daughter. Three suitors apply -- a logician, politician and an attorney. The king may ask any two of them a yes/no question. The logician always tells the truth. The politician always lies. The attorney says either randomly. The three men know each other. The king seeks only to avoid choosing the attorney for his daughter. What question should he ask of the two suitors?

Solution

This one was a tough one. The key to the solution is you need to involve all three suitors, but you may only ask two of them a question. You can involve the third suitor by referring to him. One way to do this is point to anybody and ask the other two “Is he the logician?” Let’s examine what would happen.

If you’re pointing to the logician, then the politician will lie and say “no.” The attorney could say “yes” or “no.”

If you’re pointing to the politician, then the logician will tell the truth and say “no.” The attorney could say “yes” or “no.”

If you’re pointing to the attorney, then the politician will lie and say “yes.” The logician will tell the truth and say “no.”

Notice that if you get two no’s, then you’re either pointing at the politician or logician. Pick the one you’re pointing at, since all you need to do is avoid the attorney.

If you get one no and one yes, then the “no” is either coming from the politician or logician and the “yes” from the attorney or politician. Choose the person who said “no.” Again, you won’t know if he’s the politician or logician, but you will have avoided the dreaded attorney.

Another solution is to still point to anybody and ask “Is he the politician?” The follow up strategy, based on the answers, is the same.

Puzzle for Feb 6, 2025

You have two sand timers. One measures 7 minutes and the other 11 minutes. The king orders a 15-minute egg and wants it in exactly 15 minutes. How do you do it?