The road to Santo Domingo

Our walk began early this morning. We departed before 630am to a thick cloud cover and complete darkness. Mark and I got separated in the dark but rejoined in time to see what awaited us on the horizon.

Living in LA, I'm accustomed to storms always moving to the East - away from me. The ocean is always to my back. My bias to this orientation led me to overlook that I was walking into the heart of that storm, directly to the West. As I watched it unfold on the horizon, I was reminded of Ukraine, watching explosions and hearing the rumble in the distant sky. But this is just a storm.

It hit us about an hour later when we were in the middle of a massive vineyard with no refuge on the horizon for miles in any direction. We were the tallest thing around. The rain came down like a deluge and overwhelmed all of our protective rain gear. We had no choice but to bow our heads, ask for God's protection and plow forward as fast as possible.

I've been in some sketchy situations traveling abroad and I can honestly say I've never been scared until today. It's remarkable how powerful and humbling nature is in the face of our own limited potency. I was reminded of Martin Luther nearly being struck by lightning and begging God to save him. But there is real power in humility. There is real power in trusting that you are protected as you walk through troubled times.

We made it safely to Najera about 1,5 hours later. We took refuge in a cafe and assessed our damages. Passport - soaked and deformed. My Pilgrim credential ruined. I trusted my rain gear. Socks and shoes completely soaked. They will likely take days to dry out. But we're alive and fine apart from the bruised ego.

And I will never forget this morning as long as I live.Read more