I am guessin’ most of you are more interested in today’s events than those of two weeks ago (although the past two weeks have been quite an adventure), hence I figured I’d try to post daily from here on out and backfill when I get the opportunities.

Today was one of the toughest stages and I only walked 18k, mostly due to the torrential downpour and heavy winds we’ve been battling the past couple days here in Spain and El Camino:

Henri hits Spain 

Unlike yesterday, today was more wind than rain. The trail itself would’ve been relatively easy as since Burgos I’ve been trekking across the Meseta Central (the high plains that stretch from Burgos to Astorga. As much as I’ve wanted to reflect on the terrain and it’s history (like the battles that must have taken place on this land when El Cid enlarged the Castilian Territory at the expense of the Muslims who had conquered this land some 1000 years ago), the weather has been torturous and my focus has been on not getting ill or injured. Pepe has never been as much of a “bear” as he has for the past 60km, as the hurricane forced winds (mostly head and crosswinds as I’m trekking westerly) have made every step feel like I’m being grabbed and pulled back from behind by The Hulk! Since Logroño however, I’ve embraced the toil and struggle and when I arrive at my daily refuge worse for wear I feel the gratification of the day’s difficulty (much like I remembered Shawn’s Zeal when he’d return from a “punishing” Crossfit Workout). So going forward,  I’ll no longer bore you with my ailment play-by-play, as I’ve embraced The Way and it’s difficult physical challenges as my latest “workout plan”.  As Americans we are so obsessed with the notion of instant gratification, we sit on the couch on “standby” waiting to read about, well let’s be more matter-of-factly as most are too lazy to read and are adding to the wasteline eating Twinkies watching infomercials, waiting to order (provided the S&H is free) the next “make your belly disappear” miraculous pill or garment!

Notwithstanding, I think it is still important that I respect my physical limits in lieu of stubbornly trying to meet a goal. Hence, a Santiago arrival on the 29th may not be probable. At the end of the day, it’s no wonderous revelation that I’ve discovered on El Camino, success comes from hardwork, grit and determination (i.e. Frank opening Cedar Hills at 7 a.m. come rain, snow, hangover or illness – not a third-degree sunburn however )! You’ll never find the “Franks” of The World romanticizing over hitting the lottery or worshiping at the altar praying for “success and fortune” – they “just do it”! 

“The value of a thing sometimes lies not in what one attains with it but in what one pays for it— what it costs us.”

—Friedrich Nietzsche

Don’t have a lot of photos to share, for one the weather and also my camera on my phone broke a couple days ago when Catalina (a young girl from Florence that I walked with) dropped my phone when I asked her to take a photo of me in front of The Cathedral in Burgos (by far the most beautiful I’ve been too thus far).  Now only the front-facing-camera (5mpx) is working versus the rear camera (20mpx). She felt so horrible and insisted that she buy me dinner later that evening, I agreed but of course I paid the tab on my way to the bathroom; something she couldn’t wrap her head around as she felt so obligated because of the camera. She’s a lovely girl, and I know she’s on a ‘tight’ budget as we were looking at places to stay the next evening and her main “filter” setting was set on the 5€ options…With the gloss of hindsight, something tells me she didn’t drop the camera but the camera chose to hit the ground 🙂

 

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Stay tuned I’ll back…