Monterreal Castle

Baiona Spain was the very first place in Europe to learn than Columbus and his crews had discovered the new world when Caravel La Pinta was the first ship to return on March 1, 1493.

Today, we meandered this beautiful town, getting in plentiful steps. After meandering the shops, we tried to take the short route back to the hotel, but ended up taking the coastal route around the castle...the one that I thought might be the Camino, but not. Such a gorgeous walk and so glad we got lost. The best moments are made in spontaneity.

We returned to the hotel and had a nice session together. Lisa gave us each a tiger's eye stone to signify protection for our journey. We talked about non judgement as part of mindfulness. A method of practicing non judgement is calling something outloud by its name to bring attention to that thing. We had a meditation session. We could hear the elevator outside repeatedly dinging. Instead of judging it as good or bad, we just said, "elevator". It just is, and we accept it and move forward. I think this will be a great tool for grounding, to keep my mind and emotions from going wild and starting down negative paths. My muscles are beginning to relax. It always takes me two full days into a vacation to let down. I count today as day 1.

After our session, a few of us met in the cafe for wine and tapas. We had the most interesting conversation, as Kelly suggested that we start with one question as a talking point, and each person answer the question. She obtained this idea from the book, The Art of Gathering. The question of the night was, "What one thing did your Dad teach you that had the most impact on you?" There were just 4 of us there that answered the question, yet it turned into hours of deep conversation and understanding of each other. It was productive dialogue that translated into our present lives and circumstances in a meaningful way. My lessons... 1) ask someone to help me do tasks that I'd really like to do but feel overwhelmed by and 2) talk to strangers.

We begin our pilgramage tomorrow. The bags are packed. We'll get up and meet for breakfast at 7:30, get our Camino passports stamped, and head out on The Way.Read more