One of the lessons of the Camino is that you meet people, travel together for awhile, and then separate. And then, sometimes surprisingly, you meet again.
Seeing Keith and Lynn in Pamplona last night was about that. They are spending an extra night there to rest, but may catch up with me when I spend two nights on Logrono. And this morning, Nadina and Johnny decided to spend another night there as well. Pamplona is a youthful small city, with a university and late night partying. They wanted to take advantage of it.
So today I had just 2 companions, Freddie and Mary, but we saw so many people along the way that we had met in other places. I’m having dinner in a bit with the two couples from Sacramento that I met in Biarritz.
The Camino today was mostly lovely quiet pathway but under an unrelenting sun — very little shade. There were some parts lined with various berry bushes, so I indulged as I did yesterday in picking blackberries mid morning. It reminded me of picking berries in Missouri as a child, and then making jam with my Grandma Bea in the heat of the day! There were fields of sunflowers that have since bloomed that were certainly beautiful when in full bloom, and vistas back to Pamplona and beyond. We stopped to eat at Zariquiegui, a hillside town just before a climb to 490 M to a ridge with wind turbines spinning in the wind. The down was trickier — very rocky path meant you had to keep your eyes down and your attention on where you stepped. A good time for a little Ipod music.
While I was with Freddie and Mary for the day, we mostly each walked alone, which gives us the time and space we each want for our own reasons and journey.
The walk is still difficult, so I find myself looking at distances and time and that’s something I’d like to stop doing. I think when your feet hurt and it’s hot you sometimes just want to get where you’re going, and I need to remind myself that it’s about the journey.
No pictures today; the wifi isn’t strong enough to have managed my photo stream into the ipad!
More soon.
I love that this journey forward is sending your mind into the past. Those moments are key in pushing through the mental blocks that are at the soul of any pilgrimage. You’re gonna get zen fast, I suspect! I hope there is a cool breeze at your back and very cushy soil at your feet tomorrow!