Recuperating in León

Mantras
Don’t give up
Be proud of how far you’ve come!
Learn the language
Absorb the culture
Elevate the sausage foot!
“Resting is strength” -Lisa❤️

Sooooo I took a day to rest my leg in the gorgeous city of León. I love it here. I could live here forever. For two days I’ve rested, iced, elevated, contemplated, cried, pouted, thrown pity parties, and visited the hospital. My ligaments are very unhappy that I walked 290 miles in 20 days. Ok, I get that. I asked too much of my 44 yo somewhat lumpy body. I spent time making amends with my body and showing the respect it deserved.

I am separated from my Camino family now and that has also been an unexpected sadness. When planning a solo trip, I had no idea how important the connections would be with other peregrinos. We hold hope and love and laughter for each other along the way. We may not see each other all day or sometimes for a few days but we eat together in the evenings when we can and we walk with each other when someone needs support. I feel alone, together…and it’s been magical.

The other night, I KNEW THE MOST SPANISH at the dinner table!!! It felt amazing. In previous trips,to the more touristy places in Europe, there has always been a plethora of people who speak English. Here, that is not the case. It’s respectful to try to speak as much Spanish as possible. At the beginning of this journey, it felt a bit helpless to not be able to communicate but today, I navigated by myself and asked for help in Spanish several times along the way. I made it to my bus.

Yes, I’m on a bus today. I decided to modify my journey in order to make peace with my body. I am taking a bus 30k (19 mi) forward. I will stay at a Buddhist-like, zen albergue surrounded by gardens, yoga, wonderful food, dogs, cats, and other peregrinos. Tomorrow I will return to the Camino and modify my days to under 20k and at a much slower pace, until I feel healed. This pace/rate may mean another bus ride in the future and I will consider that when the time comes.

The Camino. The way.
Every peregrino who travels the Camino does it there own way. That’s what makes it THEIR Camino. I am finally understanding this and I am proud of MY Camino. I have 305km (190 mi) of magic and beauty ahead of me and I will treasure every fucking precious moment of it!!

PS if I don’t stop shoving my face with bread, pastries, and fried tapas, I will certainly be a bit lumpier upon my return!! I ate healthy cereal today…I’m such an adult. The end.Read more