28.5 miles, 2,000′ vertical, 5:48 moving
Mind
Simple breakfast of bread and jam.
Started a little late because of a great conversation with Heather. (More on that later.)
Cruised for first 15 miles. I was eager to meet my parents!
This is pretty amazing: I was able to meet my parents for coffee/early lunch on the Camino! We had some tortilla (In Spain, this is an egg and potato dish like a quiche.) and some treats. It was great to show them a little of the Camino, catch up, and hear about their trip so far.
Cruised into Burgos and found another Parish Hostel run by the Jesuits slightly off the Camino. It’s in a beautiful building!
Body
This was the first morning that my major muscle groups (quads, calves) felt sore starting out. After ~2 miles, I was good.
I find a freedom in how manageable the distance and running feels. I stop all the time to take photos, talk to other pilgrims, stop in most churches, get food, clear out the stand/mud from my socks, or whatever else I need to do. I get all sorts of reactions to the distance I’m covering, but it works well for me.
We are all on our own Camino.
Let’s see if this works. Here’s a video of what it’s like to travel the Camino from my perspective.
Walking through La Rioja wine country two days ago.
This is the morning a couple days ago. I love the morning with the birds singing and the church bells and even a yellow arrow that marks the trail everywhere. …it looks like it won’t upload.
Can you view the videos? Do you want more? Let me know I’m the comments.
Spirit
I really enjoyed staying at the Parish hostel last night. I appreciate that more of the people staying there are on a spiritual journey. I feel more connected to the 1,100 years of history of the Camino. Tonight I’m also staying at another Parish hostel, and I’m going to try to stay at them as much as possible. I’m writing this before mass and the communal meal.
It’s interesting that the Parish hostels are much more regimented. As you can see from the Emaus hostel in Burgos
I’m at one of the few bars that is open on Sunday eating everything that I can point to. There’s what look like 12-14 year olds on the TV playing soccer, I mean futbol.
