Fonsagrada, A

Growing up I was often told by adults that I wore my emotions on my sleeve. Bonnie says she often hears, "Well you don't have to guess how Bonnie is thinking,” even when she hasn't said anything yet.

We are cut from the same cloth.

The elements around our walk today provided us a good opportunity to discuss this together. I woke up disgruntled with the weather, my feelings blue and already on the sleeves of my Mountain HardWear shirt still damp from yesterday's rain.

Our ponchos stayed on the entire stage as we walked under, through and in the rain. The trail was mostly a stream or path of mud. Bonnie and I kept our heads down attempting to find the most stable steps over and over again.

Not much was said the first half of our day. Besides being so wet it was mostly all incline and we were working hard. We would check in on each other making sure we were both okay. After a while we found that we were both up for today’s challenge; in fact we felt energized despite our circumstances. While we couldn't really see the views, though we couldn't take many photos, though our shoes were soaked and our bodies were wet and cold, we were still excited to be on the Camino and to be together.

We said it over and over today - Ultreia - Lets go further. Let's keep going. Let's keep moving.

We crossed over Alto del Acebo that separates the regions of Asturias and Galicia. Asturias challenged us and rode us hard. It did not find us lacking in spirit or in stamina. It did challenge me emotionally.

Both of us find those comments that were/are made about us to be subtle digs to let us know that people aren't comfortable when we are emotional. Trust me, I get it. I am the one with the emotions and I'm not comfortable. It is kind of the point. And while I'm sure there are measured, reasoned and grown up ways to deal with disappointments, what it feels like is that we are being told we are too much.

But we aren't. In fact our emotions are part of our super powers. It's why I can enter into some hard and dark situations. It's why Bonnie is so strong and such an anchor.

We used our superpowers today to get us through a dark stage. It helped guide our choices. It helped us thrive.

Sometimes we just need a little time.

My high school teacher, Mrs Chaney, was a guide and a friend to me. One time, in a discussion we had after I graduated she shared with me that she always had faith that I would get where I needed to be, that I just needed to feel supported and given time. At first her feedback stung, like I had to be coddled, but she was right.

Bonnie and I walked through a storm today and discussed what it feels like when life is stormy. We both felt understood today. We both arrived.

We were happy to get to Fonsagrada. We checked into our accommodations for the night and were grateful for the hot shower and dry clothes. Our next stop was at a lavanderia so we could do 

a load of laundry. Now our traveling wardrobe is also clean and dry. Next order of business was to find an open cafe/bar and have a hot cup of coffee. When we asked our waiter where we could find a newspaper he gave us yesterday's edition so that we could roll it up and stuff it in our shoes to hopefully absorb the moisture. We found our favorite snacks at the grocery store. 

The sun is now shining. We are in Galicia. We are together and we are moving forward. One step at a time. And we are moving upward, which means we are growing.

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