Camino Week Two

Hard to believe it’s already been 2 weeks of walking. Honestly, I feel great. I think that first week was meant to break me. Meant to break any preconceived notions I had, any ideas that I had control on this journey, any plans at all. And it did just that. The trip to Bakio was a perfect reset after I had gotten so down and then we were off again.

These past few days have been amazing. Truly and thoroughly amazing. Sure, I’ve still had times I’ve wanted to cry. I’ve gotten frustrated when multiple albergues I had looked up who said they allowed dogs told us “no, no permite perros” I’ve gotten discouraged when people scowl at Maverick or don’t return a “buen camino” in passing. We’ve still faced our obstacles. We’ve slept in private rooms and we’ve slept on a mat under the stars. We’ve eaten three course meals and we’ve gone days without food. Every single day is something new. Every single day is a gift from our God.

I walk alone a lot, just Maverick and myself. This had been getting me down before but even today I was thinking of just how meaningful it is to walk alone at points. If I hadn’t been, I would have missed the purple flowers interlaced with the red poppies and wheat. I would have missed how the wind whistles through the grasses. I would have missed the orange and white butterflies that Maverick ran after. Yet sometimes, it’s been nice to walk with people. I walked almost a whole day with two girls from Ireland. They even continued on with me when albergue after albergue turned us away for having Maverick until the last one in town made an exception for the three of us in a private room. I met a man from Germany who proved that the 3 theory in Inglourious Basterds was indeed true. I walked with a guy from Boston whose Mom grew up outside of Santiago and he’d been there every year but hadn’t walked it til now, and he started in Le Puy, France 39 days ago. We laugh about the towns we go through and the different struggles we all face. We joke about our cultures and accents and share music at night over communal dinners. And then in the morning we get up and do it all over again. And through it all, I’m never truly alone. Because through it all, God is walking right along with me.