Day 24: Marsac - Le Chatenet-en-D.

Distance: 38k (incl. 4.5k shortcut) (553.4/1316.9)
Weather: 25C, overcast
Mood: Tired but satisfied
Blisters: 0
Staying at: a field

Why make it hard?

I'd been going over my planning for the next few days a number of times when Richard asked me: "Why do you make it so hard for yourself?" The constant pressure to hit a certain daily mileage seemed a bad thing to him.
I read the same thing on a santiago website, to not pressure yourself too much on time so you can enjoy the camino to its fullest.
But of course I have my own view, I like the physical challenge and I'm not even sure why. Probably because I want it to be hard and I want to feel like I've really achieved something at the end of the day. I mentioned this earlier, it seems like a certain level of suffering is imperative to the camino.
Somehow this challenge keeps me going and prevents my camino from becoming routine and even a bit boring. And so today, I hit a new high on my daily mileage (33.5km) and it feels good.
I just hope it still feels good tomorrow...

In case you're wondering what that misty picture is of... Well that was the summit of my first climb, bit unlucky with the weather. It wasn't that hard though and I enjoyed walking alone again. Enough thoughts to keep this busy mind company!Read more