When we were making our plans in 2013 to walk the Camino - I had a discussion with one of my sisters in regards to a critique that Americans tend to walk in very long strides whereas Europeans tend to walk in shorter strides. She had just returned from an European vacation on which many of the Americans had difficulty walking up hills. The tour host had tried to teach them that taking small short steps would enable them to walk farther with less effort. Armed with that information - she thought we could use that knowledge on the Camino. The reality is that when walking the Camino - one will naturally employ the complete range available to any walker. One fact that we learned in training for the Camino and in designing our "Camino de los Santos" is that the average person's stride is approximately 30 inches which translates to 2000 steps in a mile. Using that number - it is easy to calculate that the entire Camino of 500 miles translates into one million steps! Some people are big on tracking steps - miles - kilometers - whatever distance they cover when walking - cycling - swimming. Many in Lent track their number of rosaries - chaplets - hours in adoration - Mases attended - as markers along their Lenten journey. Whatever metric you do - do not use - is perfectly fine - helping you to track your success - progress during these 40 days. Anything you can do to encourage - inspire you to stay the journey is just fine. Leaving San Javier - a good night's sleep - we once again headed out into the unknown. In Lent - baby steps - just fine as long as you continue to advance on your journey.
San Javier community area - goodbye
First things first on any journey - nutrition - at home in Lent - breakfast - on the
Camino - the first breakfast - looking for cafe con leche y tostada
Ask and you shall receive - bars serving coffee and toast
early in the morning - a must
Heading out of Astorga - the Senda - a planned
walking path away from the blacktop - fairly flat - easy
Only 249 Km to go - about two-thirds completed
For most of our pilgrimage - we were alone - occasionally meeting others who may
have stayed with us or just passed us by - walking at a faster pace - not shadows
not bad at all - if you don't mind the constant sun and heat
For sale sign - needs renovations - what we would tear down - in Europe - many consider a starting point. Lent is sort of like that for some - having intended to start a devotion - quickly discarded - not knowing if they should restart - or start fresh - considering there are
40 days - always - when days are left - time to resume or start over - never say never - Jesus stands at your side waiting for you.
The Cowboy Bar - Not much to look at - famous stopping point for food and drink
On any journey - always forks in the road - take the high road or the low
Does not make a difference - Jesus - always with you which ever you chose
Time to end the day - 5 hours walking - feet tired
Time to visit the local church - say some prayers - a relatively easy walk today - with no major challenges - Tomorrow the highest point on the Camino and the Cruz de Ferro - The Iron Cross. Another afternoon of drinks - snacks - dinner and bedtime. As we end this day - final thoughts about Lent - time for reflection.
Buen Camino
Deacon Dale
