Connected in a river of love
This morning we were all greeted by a trickle of water when we turned on our sinks. This is very ironic, as I never write about the showers, but I did yesterday! Alas, a water main had broken in town, so we all had to use our flexible minds to figure out how to get up and out without running water!
Hugh let us know that the word for today was connection, and invited us to explore the idea of connection as we walked. The connection included the web of connection in our group, our connection to the current pilgrims walking with us, connection to pilgrims of the past and also our connection to the greater world. Fun!
After some reiki blessings, we started our way out of town together. We started with the infamous 2 mile incline, which everyone mounted with strength and the day progressed with the usual ups and downs. We all really enjoyed walking with each other and with other pilgrims and some of us got to explore how we felt about spending some time walking alone. Of course, on the Camino, one is never alone, but if you want to walk in silence, you can.
We arrived at lunch, all in one piece with some of us feeling the effects of the walk more than others. The game for today was jax, and many of us enjoyed playing it while Jose pulled together yet another amazing meal.
The afternoon walk was our hottest yet, but we all stayed hydrated and upright and made it through the varied terrain of the road to Palas de Rais.
A short bus ride later, we were safely ensconced in our mid-walk spa hotel, with some folks getting massages, others enjoying the water circuit, and still others just relaxing. As we gathered before dinner, we compared how a few GPS devices had measured the day, and came up with a very precise “somewhere between 15.9 miles and 19.2 miles, which we agreed meant “really far.” After a short meeting we had a nice meal served by a fabulous server who spoke excellent English, which itself was a Camino miracle in this beautiful remote country hotel!
Everyone is feeling the effects of the day, however long it was, and we anticipate some world-class sleeping this evening.
Copyright 2019 Nancy and Hugh Murray
