Walking the Camino

It was a long windy day. The last two days have some of the longest walks of my Camino - almost 30 km each day. I have been walking for one week and almost reached a quarter of a million steps, over 100 miles walking about 6 hours per day. I now have 3 blisters on my feet, but they are treatable and do not seem to bother me when walking. Each day on the Camino you meet new people as well as old friends. Sometimes conversations are long, sometimes short, but everyone keeps walking. Today I stopped for lunch. I normally don’t, but today it was needed. I had a ham sandwich with tomato and olive oil and a beer. I had been walking 4 1/2 hours when I stopped and it was very refreshing. To my Baptist friends, I don’t believe I am backsliding, but a cold beer after a hot, dry walk sure does taste good. (Maybe my penance will now be to walk more miles?). The landscape is just as beautiful but it is changing. We have now enter the “rioja” region of the country and you see more vineyards than whe...

I woke up at 10:30 pm when the power went on and the lights came on. I quickly plugged in all the chargers, checked the internet (not up), turned off the lights and went back to bed. I want to leave early this morning, but breakfast wasn’t until 7:30 and since I had no cash and a hungry stomach I stayed and headed out about 7:55. It was a long day, almost 29 kilometers and an early start would have helped. I passed over 200,000 steps today (94 miles). I feel good but found a second blister on the other foot. So far there is not a major problem. As I left Los Arcos, I saw 2 genuine pilgrims praying the Rosary. Moving! So far the people I have met on the Camino are walking for a personal challenge, a change of vocation or a holiday to get away. Some like my Korean friend has had some major disappointments in his life and is searching for direction and understanding. In past times, it was God they hoped would answer them on the Camino. I think they are still looking for God and His answ...

This morning started at 5:30 when the trash truck outside my room started its day. My grandson would have been happy. I had slept well - in bed at 8:45, so I rose slowly and stiffly a began my routine of packing and preparing for the day. After breakfast which included scrambled eggs and bacon, I was at 7:45 - my earliest start. The day was once again filled with beautiful landscapes and today brilliant sunshine. I am so grateful to God and called the beauty of the walk “A Beautiful Mercy.” It is very hard to get the beauty of the vistas into a photo. I once again walked for a while with my two Danish friends. Our first stop was the Bodega Irache which had an outdoor tap for wine. It was 8:30 and I decided not to partake. They said it was an “early vintage.” We did get our picture taken on the webcam and you will see it. From there we headed to Luquin. This wasn’t intentional - it was “The Road Less Traveled.” I don’t know where I missed it but I did. I was following sign for an “alter...

When I left the hotel the cock crowed. I thought it was an omen, but no, it was a rooster welcoming the day. It had nothing to do with me. The walk was less stressful today and I arrived at my new location at 1:30. For the most part the landscapes were once again beautiful and we started a transition today from the fields of grain to the vineyards and groves of olive trees. One of the highlights from me was walking on a road constructed by the Romans over 2100 years ago and crossing the bridge which they had constructed. Something still being used after 2000 years is just amazing. I met an English woman today and we had a wonderful conversation about America (she says on the Camino Americans and Australian are similar), baked beans (a staple for English breakfast but dying because of bad reviews from people like me), anchovies (absolutely delightful for her and wondering why Americans don’t appreciate them), and theology. She remarked that she had yet to meet a person on the Camino who...