Arcos, Los

I felt a bit sad this morning waking up and being the only person left in the hostel eating breakfast at 730. Everyone else seemed to have left early to beat the heat. I made my way to the bus station to take the bus to Los Arcos and was heartened to see other pilgrims waiting. I started talking to an American girl who is also walking alone. She had to get her blisters treated because they had gotten so bad. Another woman was waiting because she hurt her knee on one of the descents. Another had bought new shoes and the shop gave her one shoe in the right size and one shoe in a smaller size. She had to cut a hole in her shoe to give her big toe more room because it kept pressing against the top of the shoe. Clearly I wasn’t alone in getting a bit beat up physically in the first week.

I had a nice conversation with the American girl who agreed how hard it is not to compare yourself to other pilgrims and stay focused on your own journey. And how to decide what pain is tolerable and what pain needs to be listened to to avoid injury. It’s validating to hear that others are experiencing similar things.

After taking the day to think, I’ve settled on a new plan. I’m going to take a bus for the next few days to visit Logrono, Burgos, and Leon. After Leon, I’ll take one last bus to Astorga and rejoin the Camino in Galicia for the remaining 260km. This will put me back in the mountains (which I love) and will give me ample time to do slower walking days and take rest days when I want or need to. If I get to Santiago a few days early, I’ll see if I can change my flight to have more time at home before going back to work.

I don’t have the courage yet to cancel all those reservations I made for the rest of the trip, but I’ll do it soon. I’m going to pick up a sleeping bag in Logrono and do it the “pilgrim way” and either arrive at albergues (hostels only for pilgrims) and ask if they have a bed or make reservations a day or two in advance. I definitely learned in a big way that sometimes you really can’t plan for things, so I’m letting go of planning and taking it as it comes. I also underestimated how important the pilgrim community feels and I’m opting to stay in hostels and albergues rather than the comforts of private rooms to be able to connect more with people. I’m learning and pivoting as I go.

(PS - I know this is a long post, but I was excited to spend time in the church in Los Arcos. It has one of the few Black Madonna statues on the Camino and I was excited to see it. If you don’t know the history of Black Madonnas, I recommend reading God is a Black Woman by Christena Cleveland. She did a pilgrimage in France visiting the many Black Madonnas there.)Read more