The Way to Land's End

• Starting Point: Roncesvalles
• Ending Point: Zubiri
• Daily distance: 13.9 miles (22.3 km)
• Total distance: 29.2 miles (47 km)

We woke up to rain. Luckily we are prepared and pull on our rain jackets and pants. The rain is a light drizzle and we navigate through it easily, though our shoes and pants legs are soon muddied. 

The terrain today is forest paths. We passed through one forest in which 9 women were accused of practicing witchcraft and burned at the stake during the Inquisition in the 16th century. 

We were feeling very good until we realized that what goes up, must come down!  And coming down is even more difficult on slippery, muddy rocks. Miles of cautiously navigating through the downhill terrain wore on our knees and calves. We were hobbling near the end. In one section, water was rushing over the pathway and a mountain biker skidded and crashed. (He was okay). 

But the thing about the Camino is that cheerleaders are always close. When the pain begins to make you wince, a friendly face you met earlier passes next to you and encourages  you with a shout of “Buen Camino” or empathizes with you about their pains or distracts you with a story from their life.  Today as I walked I had noticed how all of us pilgrims look a like, especially in our rain gear. From a first glance, you cannot make a snap judgement about someone’s profession or social status. The first question is not “What do you do?”. Instead, hikers ask where you started, when and how far you are going. I could be talking with the CEO of a multinational company or a homeless person and not know it. It is refreshing to shed those “normal” classifications we make. 

A hike we anticipated taking 6 hours ended up taking 8 hours. We were so happy to see our albergue. It was a newer one with a small number of beds. Many guests were pilgrims we already knew and it was nice to see them again. Dinner was amazing. The albergue owner’s wife made a kind of polenta cake, a delicious soup, salad and lemon flavored condensed milk dessert with green tomato jam on top. And of course, Spanish wine flowed from the flasks on the table. 

By dinner time, I was exhausted, cranky and much less patient with others. Being an introvert by nature, I cherish my alone time and find solitude necessary to recharge my batteries. Living in such close quarters and talking all day on the trail is starting to take its toll. I became quite irritated with some new pilgrims I met at dinner, who I didn’t feel where in the spirit of things. As I lay in bed that evening, I had a difficult time falling asleep. Tossing and turning, I realized that just as I need to listen to my physical body on the trail, I need to be attuned and listen to my spirit. If my knee is hurting, I slow down and take it easy. If my spirit is shouting for some alone time to recharge, then I need to listen and do so. I finally fall asleep as I decide to walk in solitude tomorrow. Or at least try to…I’m not quite sure if it’s possible on the Camino.