“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” ~ Pablo Picasso
My stage 5 walk consisted of going from Uterga to Villatuerte. I covered 26 km, more than 16 miles, and 36,239 steps. The weather was cool for most of the morning, and then the heat set in just before midday. I ended up meeting a Canadian lady about a third of the way to Villatuerte. Laura Lee is a Canadian, who works for a University in Ottawa. I have been walking most of the Camino on my own thus far, so it was really nice to have some company for the day. We both tried to make it to Estella today, but we ended up running out of energy around 5pm. I stayed in a really nice alburgue with only 6 beds (no bunks), with 2 other Americans, a Canadian, and a young British couple from the south of England. I decided to eat the peregrino dinner in the evening with about 24 of my fellow hikers. The dinner cost me 13 euros, and it consisted of bread, red wine, water, chicken, potatoes, carrots, and some flan for dessert. It was quite a hearty meal, and a great way to meet some new pilgrims. I sat at a table of four with Laura Lee from Canada, and two retired Irish ladies from Dublin. After dinner, my evening consisted of hand washing some clothes, managing/caring for the wounds on my feet, and planning the next day's itinerary. So far, the Camino has been a lot of fun for me to experience. There is certainly a lot of discomfort each day when I wake up, and a lot of aches and pains to overcome because of all the pounding on the body. I do feel like I'm adjusting to the discomfort. Everybody out here is dealing with it. I've found that just like a lot of other things in life.... the key to getting through it is determination and being mentally focused. When I find myself on long climbs, or difficult descents, I just focus with an added intensity, and I draw on strength from my faith, my family and my friends. I heard a fellow hiker say the first week of the Camino is all about the adjustment for the body, the second week is about the mental struggle, and the rest is all about your spirit. I'm just going to keep plugging away and find out for myself.
Here are some pics from the last two days.
Lights out.
My stage 5 walk consisted of going from Uterga to Villatuerte. I covered 26 km, more than 16 miles, and 36,239 steps. The weather was cool for most of the morning, and then the heat set in just before midday. I ended up meeting a Canadian lady about a third of the way to Villatuerte. Laura Lee is a Canadian, who works for a University in Ottawa. I have been walking most of the Camino on my own thus far, so it was really nice to have some company for the day. We both tried to make it to Estella today, but we ended up running out of energy around 5pm. I stayed in a really nice alburgue with only 6 beds (no bunks), with 2 other Americans, a Canadian, and a young British couple from the south of England. I decided to eat the peregrino dinner in the evening with about 24 of my fellow hikers. The dinner cost me 13 euros, and it consisted of bread, red wine, water, chicken, potatoes, carrots, and some flan for dessert. It was quite a hearty meal, and a great way to meet some new pilgrims. I sat at a table of four with Laura Lee from Canada, and two retired Irish ladies from Dublin. After dinner, my evening consisted of hand washing some clothes, managing/caring for the wounds on my feet, and planning the next day's itinerary. So far, the Camino has been a lot of fun for me to experience. There is certainly a lot of discomfort each day when I wake up, and a lot of aches and pains to overcome because of all the pounding on the body. I do feel like I'm adjusting to the discomfort. Everybody out here is dealing with it. I've found that just like a lot of other things in life.... the key to getting through it is determination and being mentally focused. When I find myself on long climbs, or difficult descents, I just focus with an added intensity, and I draw on strength from my faith, my family and my friends. I heard a fellow hiker say the first week of the Camino is all about the adjustment for the body, the second week is about the mental struggle, and the rest is all about your spirit. I'm just going to keep plugging away and find out for myself.
Here are some pics from the last two days.
Lights out.
5 comments:
Gorgeous photos! Continued prayers for your journey!
Great photos Eric. It's funny but in all my research about the Camino I've read the same as far as the different stages. It makes sense that it would commence in that order. In my thoughts and prayers daily. 🙏🏻
The stages you mentioned are spot on.
BUEN CAMINO!
Shaina, the stages really are so diverse and unique each day. Many of the trail surfaces are especially hard on the feet.
Diane, thanks for your prayers.
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