A Courageous Day!
A few of us began the day with yoga-in-the-dark to the sounds of the river flowing in the misty background and the birds shuffling as they woke. The entire group shared a wonderful breakfast at the Hotel Alfonso, and then we gathered to prepare for our first walking day! We were invited to open our senses to try to notice those things that we dont usually notice by Hugh. Jose gave us a brilliant orientation, passed out our pilgrims credentials along with our gorgeous scallop shells harvested in the winter by Jose and his family.
The word of the day was “courage”, and with that in mind we strapped on our shoes, put on our packs, put one foot in front of the other, and we were off! Some of us left for a longer route, leaving from the hotel, and others started a bit down the road. The cool morning mist hid most wide vistas for the first few rolling hours, and allowed us to sharpen our focus on the immediate surroundings. Dew drops showed off the artistry of the local spiders for much of the morning , until the sun nudged the water back to the sky and lifted the fog. By around Noon, all the members of our group had arrived at the picnic site and we got our first taste of Jose's perfect lunch. Today's version included mussels, chorizo, plums, fresh bread and a wonderful salad of almonds, apples, and artichokes. While resting, we enjoyed playing with some bubbles!
After our rest period, we set off again for Portomarin. This part of the journey was more physically challenging and tested some of our bravery as we began to hear thunder from a distant storm shortly into the walk. The storm stayed distant, with only a few drops falling on us, but it was interesting to notice how we reacted to a simple sound!
We were delighted to find the river by Portomarin back filled with water (last year it was empty with a drought) as we walked along the long bridge to the steep stairs into the city. Jose greeted us in the town square and took us to our beautiful hotel for the night. We were disappointed that the pool is closed for maintenance, but the showers are strong and rest after our first long walk was most welcome.
We had our first post walk meeting in the living room where we shared how we took in the ideas of the day and everything else which we saw. We enjoyed sharing pictures and stamps.
We split up for dinner, enjoying pilgrims menus at various spots in the town and are off to sleep, eagerly awaiting tomorrow's adventure.
Copyright 2019 Hugh and Nancy Murray
