I keep being reminded that it’s about the journey; not the destination. It’s really not about getting to Santiago, but it’s about all the little details in these 10 weeks that make me squeal and grin and pout and everything else that comes with this experience. Yesterday was a good reminder of this. It was a relatively easy day; 20 k, flat, and sunny. Harry, Maddie, Aiden and I changed up the pace. We took 11 hours to get from town A to town B today, when usually our walks take 5 or 6 hours. We strolled through the smooth green hills talking about everything besides the miles ahead of us. We sang and we stopped to appreciate the fields of yellow flowers flowing alongside us. At one of our many ‘wow this is so beautiful’ pauses we decided to stay a while because…why not? We climbed up a side hill, plopped our packs down and got sucked into the landscape of snow capped peaks towering over golden seas, pillowy clouds shape shifting along the horizon and soft chocolate melting in our fingers. This is why I walk. I soaked up the freedom and skipped and twirled and frolicked up and down the hill for almost an hour until I was too sweaty and tired to do another twirl. This made me so much more tired and sore than walking ever does (heavy price to pay for having fun, I know). On our homestretch into town I got to pick Aiden’s brain on religion and Christianity which made me have interest in reading parts of the bible for the first time in my life. Faith is strongly alive in so many people on this camino, which I admire so much. The conversations I have engaged in in the last few days have been so enriching and stimulating: relativity, good vs. bad, dimensions, conspiracy theories, and music. Walking provides the best classroom I could ask for.
A little odd. The title is about “little details. ” But this is mostly about the big sweep of things. Frolicking, asserting that there are Wow! moments, saying that you talked about big issues and topics, that your tempted to dip into faith… Take your time. Settle down. Describe one thing carefully, thoughtfully, thoroughly. Take your time. Maybe start with Aiden.