Our First Day As A Pilgrim

There are always firsts…new beginnings…fresh starts. Today was a first for us. We are now pilgrims. We wakked with too heavy a pack which will be remedied easily by mailing things to Natalie or discarding. But we were made aware as we walked in so silence of the too heavy a pack that we are carrying through life. Isn’t it strange that the constant repetitive motion of our bodies and the sound of wind rustling trees, the birds speak truth so clearly. Absence makes us aware of fullness. In this case, our lives have too much fullness. We are missing important opportunities by too much.

We headed out about 8:30. We had a pleasant European breakfast at the hotel served by a hotel hostess that exuded warmth. The day was gray. Very strong winds and dropping temperatures necessitated many layers, gloves, warm hat. When we found our first yellow arrow we were like kids who had found the hen who laid the golden egg. We laughed. We took photos. We pointed out the signs and arrow to each other. We were on our way. We walked 10.75 miles in 5 hours including cafe con leche and lunch. We walked beside a river that in the summer would be enticing to wade into. We saw fields and snow capped mountains loomed to our right. Lovely scenery and exquisite villages crowded our path.

There were few pilgrims. Most of the albeargues (pilgrim hostels) are closed until the end of March. We met Rob from Washington state who appears to be a perpetual pilgrim. And toward Villalcazar (where we ended today) we walked with a precious Spanish couple who have been married for four years. They celebrated our 48 years with us. Maria and Antonio have a three-year-old daughter who loves Elsa from Frozen. Our Annabel granddaughter who is also three thinks Elsa is just wonderful. Maria and I broke out in a spontaneous rendition of the chorus of ” Let it go! Let it go!”  We laughed for half a mile at the commonality of being three, feminine, and aware of Disney. What a joy they were.

We took many, many photos. Our hotel is directly across from a Templar built church. It is magnificent and humbles one.  We will eat dinner soon. We asked for a 7:00 time which is early, early for Spain but we have 12 to 13 miles to go tomorrow.

It was a great first day!

Buen Camino!