Camino – Day 39

I began the day about 40km from Santiago (approximately 5% of the total distance from Saint Jean, as it turns out). I ended the day about 20km from Santiago, which is exactly my preferred distance to walk in a day. That means, if I’m doing the math correctly, I will be walking into Santiago sometime mid-day tomorrow. After 40 days on the Camino, I will have reached primary destination number one (with Finisterra yet to come later in the week). I find myself experiencing an extremely interesting mix of feelings – relief, excitement, numbness, uncertainty, anxiety. Something big that has been in the works for more than a year is nearing completion (while also acknowledging that ripples from this experience may never be complete). There is a “now what?” question lurking in the shadows just around the corner. So, it seems that me having mixed feelings in this moment is not at all surprising.

As for today, in a word, it was wet. The rain that was forecast to arrive about 10am showed up about 1/2 hour after I set out (which was considerably earlier than 10am). By the time I reached my intended destination for the day (about 20km from start to finish) the sleeves of my gortex rain jacket were soaked and my hat was dripping in my eyes. The temperature was pleasant and the wind was nonexistent, so it was not entirely unpleasant, but there is simply no denying that it was a wet day.

Along the way I had plenty of time to ponder life, try to remember long forgotten song lyics, realize (more than once) that I hadn’t been thinking about anything for a while, reflect on the oddness of the  moment when I was walking over a 4-lane divided highway after not being in a motor vehicle for more than a month and sometimes almost forgetting that many people regularly move through the world on such highways, had a conversation with a young peregrina named Katerina from Germany, and got excited at the simple pleasure of being handed a real sheet for my bed at the albergue. So, upon reflection, it was a pretty good day. As I write this I am munching on a piece of pizza and watching low clouds hanging in the trees about 1/2 a kilometer away. It really is lovely and this life I am living is quite amazing. Gratitude abounds.

Buen Camino!

Here is a link to the photos from today. It was a wet day, so the photos are few – https://photos.app.goo.gl/um3MfJmNKL5uNpTy8