Day 20 - Be present

“It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.”—-Eckhart Tolle

Made it from Vairao to Pedra Furada. Last night I had the best sleep on the whole Camino trip so far at the monastery. It was hard to leave such a calm, serene, place…but I must keep moving forward.

The walk today was lovely it went through wooded paths, country roads, and rolling landscapes. Some may ask “what do you think about when walking alone?” The answer is everything and nothing. I try to consciously do more of the nothing because I want to be fully present and take in all the beauty I’m surrounded by.

Took lots of pics and to some of you it may look like more of the same, but I find beauty in each whether it is an old door, a decaying building, or the beautiful countryside. I wonder what lies behind the doors? Who once lived in the decaying buildings, what was their life like, what happened? And so on

Today I ran into Laurent who Arlene and I had met on our second day out of Lisbon. Like Arlene he had met his spouse and friends in Porto to finish the Camino with them. It was nice to meet his family.

Met several pilgrims on the road and when I stopped at a cafe for lunch a pilgrim from Germany came in and asked to sit with me. He spoke very little English, but we managed. He had started in Porto and had just come from the Coastal route. We were then joined by a young girl from the Netherlands. There seems to be quite a number of Dutch walking the Camino

Tonight I am staying at Casa de Maria; a small private room with private bath. It cannot compare to the monastery, but at least it is private. I think for dinner since I had lunch at the cafe that I will just eat the ham and cheese sandwich I bought this morning and go to bed early.

Boa noite e que a paz esteja com você. (Good night and peace be with you)Read more