Camino de Santiago - Entry 3

Another update from across the Atlantic. I´m sure you want to get back to watching the Olympics so I won´t keep you long, but here is a snap shot of my recent past, present and future on the Camino.

First off, here is where I currently am:

(sorry about the presentation ... technical issues)
Basically it´s in a little town just outside of Palas de Rei in the Northwestern region of Spain called Galicia. I have walked about 730 km (450 miles) now and have about 60 km (37 miles) to go. Today is my 26th day of walking, Monday, and I plan to arrive in Santiago on either Wednesday or Thursday. These past days have probably been my favorite so far. I´ll explain why here, but in short, things just keep getting better and better.

In the recent past there has been ...

beautiful towns

new friends (this was an Irish singing group that I joined for half a day ... they had me sing bass)

mountainous landscapes ... it is hard to express how wonderful this is after a week of walking through monotonous plains

quite near the highest point of the entire Camino is a landmark called La Cruz de Ferro (the Iron Cross); the tradition here is to bring a rock from you homeland and leave it there as a symbol of some burden you would like to no longer carry; sunrise here was memorable

solitude has been a big part of my recent walk, which has been great

present ... The solitude has acted as a classroom where I have been learning some lessons such as:

it´s not just about the destination

but about the journey itself as well (i.e. taking time to smell the flowers)

you have to follow your own path ... because that really is the only path there is

I am also learning to trust ... trust that what I need will be provided. You see, as we get closer to Santiago, two things are happening: first, many more people are joining the Camino and hostels fill up extremely quickly. You hear stories of people sleeping outside or in church doorways. You hope it doesn´t happen to you. Second the weather is becoming wetter. It is kinda of like Oregon, rain always seems to be threatening. With this combination, many pilgrims now seem to be rushing from one hostel to the next before the next guy. I haven´t had to sleep outside yet, but have had some close calls: walking in the rain or (quote of the Camino) ¨This is great we got a (hotel) room together, but I don´t even know your names.¨

future ...

The end is near. This is me at the 100 km marker. I have lots of thoughts about the end of the Camino. On one hand I am mentally, physically, emotionally and spitirually feeling great and could probably walk for another 500 miles. It is incredible how your body becomes accustomed to and gets stronger from consistent challenges. Unfortunately my Asics aren´t bouncing back. Maybe it is time to put my feet up for a while.

I also have been wondering what Santiago will be like. For the last month it been the center of the world. All pilgrims have endured blisters, sweat and stress trying to get to Santiago. We have laughed, ate and drank with each other over the days as well as helped each other ¨carry the load.¨ We will be greeted by those who have gone before us and there will be room for all who make it. Maybe I´ve been walking to long, but it sounds like heaven to me.

  

note:  So as not to lead anyone to believe that I should be confused with someone of intelligence :-) I should mention that some of the ideas and terms I used here are not my original thoughts: ¨classroom of solitude¨ - Matthew Kelly, ¨the only path is your own¨ - Lao Tzu, etc., but they resonated with me and so used them. (take that MLA formatting!) 

I hope this finds you well. Peace.