Happy Sunday to you. I hope this note finds you resting with your favourite beverage, cosy and relaxed into the unfolding of another day.
Today is day five of walking the Camino Via de la Plata in Spain. We left from Seville in the south and the whole journey is 1050 kms to Santiago de Compostela in the North. This is one of the Caminos not as frequently walked and it’s off season so we have seen a few other pilgrims. There are several days where the distance you walk before you have any provisions, including water is 20 or 30kms, so preparations are mandatory.
This walk is a beautiful practice. It’s a way to reconnect with nature in a nurturing way and reconnect with the humanities of life outside of the chaos of modern Urban life. Along with the peace you might get in nature Is the constant reminder that no matter how much beauty and joy you see and experience you still travel with your mind, and we all know what spins it’s capable of, so the opportunity for continued practice remains. The practice of finding balance and peace in our inner terrain and grace with whatever unfolds around you.
Walking a pilgrimage in Spain as a vegetarian is an added challenge for sure. Hoping to eat when you are hungry can be enough of an obstacle. During siesta everything is closed from 2-6 and this is often when you arrive at your destination and are hungry. Restaurants open at 8 or 9pm when it’s time for a pilgrim to sleep in order to rise before the sun. We are on a mission to find a way, and there are ways. Ensuring we arrive before 2 has become one good goal but not always easy.
If you want to know more about this Camino journey, I’m writing a social media update everyday with ideas and teachings that are coming through.
Some teachings are birthing like sweet fragrant ephanies and some hold the grace of tripping into mud puddles. ;-)
