Let it Be

I walked from Grañon to Villafranca de Montes de Oca.  It was about 28km and puts me at the base of the hill I have to climb tomorrow.  I think three days in a row of nearly 30km is definitely the limit. Tomorrow will be a short day, but with a few hills in the beginning. And does anyone know what to do for pain in the Achilles tendon?! Please don´t say, "Stop walking."

I´m staying in a pilgrim hostel, that´s actually a part of a hotel.  The owner had walked the Camino before and now uses part of his hotel as a place for travelling pilgrims.  Around 5pm (when I was in the middle of updating the blog), an incredible storm began and I ran to grab my laundry hanging on the line outdoors.  When I returned, water started actually leaking through the roof and the lights started flickering.  I automatically wondered about my friend Mac (Washington D.C.) who I met last night and said he was going to camp out on this very night on a hillside up ahead.

It´s interesting how on the Camino we so easily start to care about complete strangers and offer them everything from money to first aid to free walking sticks or networking for the future.  I´ve reached a point where I´m seeing less of the people I started out with and meeting more new people each day.  I finally started meeting other Americans after hardly seeing any this whole time, and was told that most of the Americans are a couple days ahead.  I´ve met people who started before or after me, and from all different starting points.  We truly are at our own pace, but it´s hard to think that I may not see some of them for the rest of my time here.  I suppose I just have to let it be.

I spent most of yesterday charting the rest of my Camino.  I came here with a "go with the flow" attitude, then recently started getting more interested in the distances I've been able to acheive each day and where and how far I can go.  I think I may be able to finish in 30 or 31 days to Santiago if my body doesn't break.  I'm not sure if that's normal or not, but I'm also hoping to have enough strength to add on 3 or 4 more days in order to reach the Atlantic to watch the sunset.

I know I shouldn't obsess over the mathematics of it all, and concentrate on the journey, but I think I'm just anxious for the experience.  Maybe for the transformation, or to put all the thoughts I've been having into action, or to just be proud of something (myself?).

I´ve also been considering my own ability to be more open since I don't think I'm very good at it.  I don't really talk much about myself besides my name, where I'm from and where I went to University, or other places that I've travelled.  Maybe it's easier to be more open with strangers because you don't really consider the long term impact or judgement that might occur.  It's like they're each potential psychologists with varying, though questionable, degrees of qualification.  Sometimes, I think they can help you reach a revelation that you may not have gained otherwise.  Still,  I can't seem to get over the fact that although this is a personal journey, I still care what others might think. It seems like I can let the presence of other peoples' lives in my life be, but not so much mine in theirs.  Yet another thing to think through and work on during the walks ahead.

--J