Days 12 & 13

Day 12: Estella to Los Arcos - 21.1 km
Day 13: Los Arcos to Viana - 18.6 km

My rest day in Estella was exactly what my mind and body needed. Like a "reset" button to enable me to enjoy the last two days of long walks.

These walks have been all about joy, beauty, and deepening relationships. Celebrating the gifts of God's creation as we walk through fields, vineyards, olive groves, and the occasional--very occasional--small town.

It is interesting to note that the first week and a half we were all about walking through towns, looking for the next cafe so we could have a hot drink in the morning and a cold one in the afternoon. Collecting cellos (stamps) in our pilgrims passports.

The "credencial del peregrino" (pilgrims passport) is our "proof" that we walked the Camino. Each day we get at least one stamp to show what towns we have passed through. The stamps are available at cafes, churches, albergues, and hotels. When we arrive in Santiago we will show our full passports and receive our certificate of completion of the Camino.

But these last two days I have been drawn to the countryside. The longer walks and slower pace. Enjoying picnic lunches and long afternoon siestas in the shade. Chatting with other pilgrims as they pass by and further getting to know the ones I continue to walk with.

Randy was telling me today how different the Camino lifestyle is from his at home--fast paced, filled with family and work responsibilities. My "real life" in Ohio is actually slow and steady, rhythmically filled with walks and food, writing and thinking about writing, just like my Camino life. The major difference for me here is the regular--frequent and deep--interaction with others.

I had dinner with a 27-year-old doctor from Belarus a couple nights ago who said he had found the Camino to be as much--if not more--about the people you meet as it is about the walking. He is an orthopedic pediatric surgeon who specializes in non-invasive treatment of club foot. He realized he had "stopped dreaming", and came to the Camino to begin again.

The time for introspection, for processing with self and others and God, here on the Camino is the perfect atmosphere to explore your dreams and the ones God has for you.