Condeixa-a-Nova

Forty nine years ago today, I gave birth to my first son, Jeffrey. I remember every moment of that day as if it were yesterday. It was a day that not only changed the course of my life, but changed me as a person. It wasn't only Jeff being born that day, a new version of Arlene was born. I remember thinking the pain was something I could never imagine doing again, and yet I was somehow able to forget it after all and remember only the good that came into my life, this wonderful person who entered my life, but also this newer improved person I had become.
As I walk this Camino, putting myself through all this pain , purposely walking and climbing further than it feels my body can endure, I cannot imagine ever doing this again. And yet, like after childbirth, each night i remember I was in pain but I forget what it actually felt like. What stays with me is the pride I feel for being able to do this, the new appreciation I feel for all they beauty in this world, both in nature and people, the overwhelming gratitude i feel to be able to enjoy this. And there is something else that I cannot quite name growing in me and changing me. And instinctively, i know whatever this thing is, I will cherish it as much as I do my role as mother. There is a reason people have been doing this walk for centuries, some people multiple times. I am beginning to understand why. We all forget the physical pain and only remember the wonder.

Tonight I am in Cominbriga after yet another day of hills and rain. But today was maybe the most beautiful day on the Camino so far. I walked with a sense of peace and serenity that I cannot remember ever feeling before. I also experienced my first donativo. A donativo is a gift someone makes to a pilgrim to support them on their way. If the pilgrim can make a donation to help support future giving, he can. If he cannot, he doesn't. The donativo i came across offered water coffee or tea, cookies and fruit, and a shelter and chairs to rest for a bit. There were also little shrines and places to meditate or pray. It was lovely, and every pilgrim I met there, with the exception of the pilgrim running the donativo, I had already met and recognized. Tonight I am sleeping in a dorm with 8 other people and I have a bottom bunk. Jayme and I went to dinner with a man from the Netherlands, the only other English speaker in the dorm. We ate at Tenesee's, burgers and wings! I am looking forward to Porto and some fish. It is all meat here in south!Read more