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- 9 giu 2024, 18:33
- ☁️ 63 °F
- Altitudine: 56 ft
- SpagnaPrincipality of AsturiasRibadesellaRía de Ribadesella43°27’46” N 5°3’30” W
The best day yet
9 giugno, Spagna ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
Today was the longest, hardest, and most beautiful day yet. I knew it would be long, but not 22 miles and 9 hours kind of long. 🥴 I’m beat!
The day started out wet, and the arrows were not as well marked as in other parts of the Camino. That made it more difficult to find the flow of walking.
I passed by many gorgeous beaches and coastal vistas today. Today was probably my favorite day of hiking so far! At one point, I thought to myself, "I don’t want this day to end..." I was not having that same thought at mile 20. 😑
The path followed the coastline most of the way but did go inland for a short portion. I enjoyed the inland portion, especially the town of Nueva. It had more of the Indiano architecture that I saw in Colombres, but this town seemed a bit more cared for. Outside of Nueva I saw the cutest little train ever! 😍 After Nueva, I walked through the inland portion a bit more and came upon a beautiful old church at the top of a hill. It’s Sunday, so Sunday service was happening inside. The church had a covered patio with a bench outside the main doors. After a very wet day, I took a moment to have bread and cheese with a mountain view beside the church. 🏔️ Service was ending just as I started to eat, and the patrons were exiting, walking right past me. I was a little embarrassed, feeling sort of like a squatter. But I am a pilgrim, and this was a Catholic Church, so… 🤷♀️
After lunch, the Camino turned back toward the coast. I walked through a gorgeous rural Spanish neighborhood and past several apple orchards until the path opened up to a picturesque picnic area. I took another short break here because the view demanded it of me and then continued down toward Ribadesella, my stop for the day. This section of the coast was nothing like I could imagine existing in Spain. It felt like Ireland or Scotland.
I got a little bit lost at the end of the day and had to backtrack about half a mile. 🙄
My companion for today was Santiago, from my favorite (audio) book, "The Alchemist." I could listen to this book 100 times. One of my favorite themes of the book is that Santiago always has a purpose. He is in search of his personal legend. It’s important to have a purpose. I think one of my favorite parts about the Camino is that I know my purpose for the day: to make progress toward Santiago de Compostela. I am a day ahead of schedule, and I could rest if I wanted, but my body doesn’t need it just yet. Plus, I like the routine of getting up and immediately getting dressed, fed, and on my way. There is a kind of rhythm and flow to the day. I wouldn’t say the same is true at home in California. I want to carry this to my life back home. When you know your purpose or dream, it’s easier to get started.
People are capable at any point in life of doing what they dream of. I’m going to focus the second half of the Camino on figuring out what I dream of. 🤔Leggi altro