Back on the Road! (6/8 - 6/9/2016)

Days 8 & 9 (6/9/2016)

Buen Camino!

Today finds us in the charming village of Santo Domingo. I had a lovely post that I had written yesterday, but we seem to be forever plagued with computer and/or internet issues, so I think I’ve lost that post for now.

Yesterday was a gift of the Camino. We ended up taking the bus from Logrono to Najera because of Rachel’s foot. It was going to be a long walk (about 18 miles) and we didn’t want to get out on the road and have foot problems AND a long walk ahead of us.

Because we had taken a rest day in Logrono, we were pretty sure that we had lost our Camino buddies, figuring they had walked on ahead of us. Imagine our delight when a lady walked up to us in the evening, whom we affectionately call “Canada”. We first talked with her at the Alto de Perdon, and it was lovely to see her again. She sat and visited with us a bit and we talked about taking the bus, Rachel’s foot, and her own decision to slow down her journey. 

One of the things Canada (Jan) said that resonated with all of us was this: There’s no “right” way to do the Camino. We just do what we can do and we don’t worry about the rest.

Today was a good day, with a number of questions answered. We discovered that Rachel can indeed walk. She set a good pace for us today and isn’t struggling too bad. Her new phrase is: It’s fine! Which I interpret to mean: I’m dealing with it.

Look closely and you'll see an imprint of a shell on Rachel's left calf. Notice also the foot brace and the knee brace on the other leg.

And when I look around me at our fellow pilgrims, I believe there are quite a few who are in lots worse shape than us, judging by the way they walk.

We’ve figured out that most of our blisters have gone away, or they have gotten significantly better. And we have discovered that we aren’t as winded going up the hills as we once were and that our calf and thigh muscles have gotten stronger.

In the next week or so, we will enter several days along the Meseta—a flat plain with very small villages (populations ranging from 20 to less than a 1000 souls), where hotels aren’t so plentiful. So, we are considering a new strategy—walking until we are tired and finding an albergue (pilgrim hostel) to spend the night. This, I think, will be a challenge for Eric. He is a planner and a contingency manager. He wants to know his next step. 

It feels to me like this will be a leap of faith—trusting that God will provide what we need as we need it. (And hopefully, He will keep bedbugs far from us!)

We will see how it goes. Of course, Rachel is the adventurer. She looks forward to trying out the albergues. Flying by the seat of the pants is just her thing. So, we will see!

Thanks for your continued prayers and words of encouragement!