Camino – Day 22

I am now in week three of this pilgrimage journey, and I’m a couple of days away from crossing the 500km mark.

Today was my shortest day yet (12km), due to the downstream spacing of available accommodations. Tomorrow I should be back on track for a 20km day. I landed in the city of Leon, with a population of about 130,000. It has been a dramatic contrast with my last experience in a larger city (Burgos). In the heart of Leon is an old walled city and a stunningly beautiful cathedral filled with gorgeous stained glass. Just walking the old, narrow, cobblestone streets is a treat.

And in the midst of this wonderful setting I found myself in a funky mood. I was feeling alone and a bit lost and frustrated. I had several challenging experiences navigating the language. And it all came temporarily crashing in. So I allowed myself to simply notice that I was having the feeling I was having, without needing to fix them, judge them, or banish them. And then I went and found some food, including successfully navigating the language to make that happen.

Now I’m sitting in an old world park, complete with a fountain featuring a sculpture of Neptune, in the midst of people enjoying a lovely evening. All things being equal, my life is pretty darn amazing.

The mountain are getting closer and sometime soon the landscape will shift. Tomorrow will be a new day and I will once again turn my face (and my feet) towards Santiago, and I will walk on.

Buen Camino!

Here is a link to photos from today – https://photos.app.goo.gl/daqEx5PkVxwfazBJ9

And here is a link to photos from the Cathedral – https://photos.app.goo.gl/FmuyYpuLy4XmBGC76