Day 3 - Life is now

This minute. It's all we have. It's all we need. Raynor Wynn, The Salt Path. Saw this today, and it resonates. We are noticing and appreciating, how little we really need, when we are carrying its weight with us. 23 km today, a long one. Satisfying. More variety too, we went through towns, through a bird sanctuary, along a wide public beachfront, along a narrow dirt road through farms...and, of course, boardwalk! We decided the last 2km are easy, it's the ones between 5 left and 2 that are hardest! Many more pilgrims now, Sète from Bulgaria with the red sequin hat, hiking alone who ended up in the same auberge. The Wisconsin's, 3 ladies walking together that we've chatted to every day. A guy we christened Italia, with an impenetrable language barrier, all we can do is point to help each other navigate. On the boardwalk I saw an older man carrying bread, in a light tan suit, and thought how very European. And he stopped to say welcome to Portugal in a rich broad English accent. As a retired fire captain, he'd lived here 6 years and loved it. I loved his formal handshake and absolute genuine pleasure in where he was. Luckily, he also gave us the tip that ten minutes ahead was the last cafe for 8km. With flagging energy, the espresso from there got us through the last of our walk. We're in an auberge tonight, just perfect, with Nicola from France hiking way faster than us, Sète, and a young German family walking the way with their toddler. And I thought we were carrying a lot!Read more