Ohhhh, this is what the Meseta is like!

I needed to put the pool shot first after this title. 😆 The hotel I’m at tonight was such an unexpected pleasure after the walk today, and the last two hotels (nowhere near as comfortable)! Before I arrived I had what felt like my first REAL day of the Meseta.

It was my first walk starting in darkness (to beat the heat). I used my head lamp for the first 20 minutes. The walk had me go up a hill just out of Castrojeriz with a beautiful view of the landscape I had traveled. I waited till the sun rose. While there a couple ,John and Kristyn, were also waiting for the sunrise. Kristin has done 5 Camino, John 6! They were nice to chat with. They had a lot they wanted to tell me about the Camino. 😉

From that hilltop the rest of my day was pretty much a sea of wheat with the hard, flat path ahead of me. I walked the rest of it alone today. Not many people on the path at the time I was walking. It was 15 miles which included a small village I was counting on for a coffee and pastry toward the end of the day that had no open cafe and a detour which had me go about 15/20 minutes longer for my day. Sigh. 😥 That’s a long time when your walking day lasts 7 hours.

I haven’t at all felt the need to use my ear buds. I think what I got from the monotony of the Meseta today is that my mind was free to wander wherever it wanted. That’s exactly the gift I wanted from the Camino. Each day of my non-Camino life has my head filled with “to do’s” tha limit my ability to see what might emerge in the silence. Today I got a nice healthy dose of nothing for my thoughts to wander wherever they wanted. What a gift!

I thought about my ministry, my family, and friendships and how lucky I am to have this gift of time to be away and focus my time and attention on them. I’m especially looking forward to having time with my brothers to waste time together as adults like we would do when we were kids.

I’m also so grateful that my family and friends are able to join me. I’m glad my kids will have this opportunity to experience a new culture. I hope it adds to their knowledge and appreciation of others and what’s out in the world for them to explore. Surrounded by many of the members of our small Christian community - my church- is honestly such a gift. To do this with such faith-filled people who know me so well is something I just can’t express how valuable it is to me.

It’s also so important and special to have Andrew and Jenna join us and complete the family outing. This opportunity to make new memories together is so important to me.

I thought about all of this, how grateful I am to have this chance to experience this with so many of the people I love.

I can also feel the difference in my body with the change in stress. I’ve been at this for 19 days! My feet are tired but my mind is clear, heart full.

This hotel was an oasis and just what I needed after today - with a pool, a beautiful room (with really great air conditioning - AC for the first time in a few days, now.) The hotel staff are accommodating and recommended a great place for dinner tonight. The hotel is so nice (and the miles tomorrow a bit shorter) I’ve decided to stay and have breakfast here before I start out. The Meseta will be there, waiting.Read more