Río Rois

I slept nine hours, which on the Camino is a record for me. My body apparently needed the rest and I'm grateful that I had a quiet place to sleep, and also quiet roommates.

A friend posted a link to a podcast interview of John O'Donohue, one of my favorite Celtic Christianity authors and poets. It was two of his books that I was reading when I walked the Camino Frances last year. I brought my Kindle on this trip to continue to read them but between walking, reflecting, writing, and interacting with other pilgrims I haven't even turned my Kindle on. I also haven't listened to any podcasts like I usually do at home. But as I walked into a Celtic forest this morning I decided that to hear John's voice and heart would be a gift. It certainly was!

One of the things he mentioned is that we are more than just our experiences and our accomplishments - both good and bad - that our core is more sacred than our stories. I needed this insight today.

After the forest I weaved in and out of little towns until the Way runs into the Ulla River. Two summers ago we walked the spiritual variant which meant we took a boat up the river to Padron. I recognized where we had disembarked. I recognized the horse that Jamie fed an apple to. I recognized tha albergue where we stayed in Padron.

While I would have gone back into the church (Iglesia de Santiago Apostolol de Pardon) to see the stone the mythical boat was moored to, it was closed. I read later today the stone isn't out anymore but is in a cabinet. I don't know the truthfulness of where the stone is but I do know that Google's info on the church being open is a lie. Oh, well. I saw it last time. Other people say it is a Roman altar stone anyways.

What and who I did want to see was the owner of the Don Pepe II bar/cafe. He meant a lot to my family when he served us with coffee and blessings on our last day's walk to Santiago. Google has been saying it was closed. It was. Like locked up for month's closed, not back after siesta closed. I took a picture through the window and prayed a blessing on our friend wherever he is.

I decided not to stay in Padron but walk another 90 minutes to get closer to Santiago and shorten tomorrow's stage. I found an old farm house that had been converted into an albergue that even has an old wine press. They advertised a community dinner and that sounded like a great way to spend my last night on the Way. Surprisingly there are only five of us here tonight - An italian woman, A father and son team from Ireland, a dental hygienist from Seattle, and me. Tomorrow night this place is booked full, but tonight was a more intimate gathering.

One last memory from today. As I navigated through Padron I was looking for lunch before heading out. The Canadian couple I met yesterday saw me and asked me to join them. We sat and talked for almost 2.5 hours. They shared the reason they started talking with me yesterday. When they were coming up behind me they saw me stop walking, pull down a rose bush from atop a wall and take a deep breath from the petals. It intrigued them that I actually stopped to smell the roses.

While I thought the conversation was very nice yesterday, it still felt surfacy to me. Apparently though they had been talking about some of the things that had come up and they were happy to see me again because they wanted to continue the conversation. Today it went deeper and I walked away feeling like I had connected.
I have five hours of walking left tomorrow. I plan to get an early start.

Ultreia et Suseia!Read more