Last night in the albergue (hostel) where I was staying the volunteer serving there told us there are three stages to the Camino.

1) “Why am I here?”

2) Physical Suffering

3) Spiritual Growth

I’m officially in Stage 2. On Monday I decided that I was going to kick it up a notch after having a great walk on Sunday. So I walk 49,000 steps. 26 miles. That’s a full marathon. And that’s was my entry point to Stage 2. But let me back up a bit.

Monday was a crazy day. I woke up at 5:15am (with no alarm clock!) and got ready to hit the trail. I found three of my companions from the night before ready to do the same and so we headed out in the dark. We made good time in the cool of the morning and were well on our way to an early finish for the day. Now, all along the journey there are water fonts in the towns for people to get water - pilgrims and townspeople both. This is normal. What’s not normal is the town of Irache that had a WINE fountain to fill water bottles as well. Yes, folks, a fountain that served delicious red wine for free to fill whatever container you bring! After filling up a water bottle full of wine, I continued up the road with my friends when we came to a decision point. They had a place booked for the night in a town in one direction and I wanted to make a longer trek in the other. They went their way and I decided to rest my feet and enjoy my wine and bread for lunch. As I sat there I was greeted by many fellow pilgrims, I met a fantastic couple (Peter & Kristen) who are doing a podcast on faith and interviewed me for it on the roadside, and I made friends with a very friendly donkey that a pilgrim was walking with along the Camino. After all of those wonderfully random experiences, I decided to set off for the longer trip, thinking I had extra time to cover extra miles.

I walked. And walked. And walked. And walked. Then I got a quick break at a bar for a couple of cokes and some tortilla (it’s like pie made with potatoes). And then I walked. And walked. And walked. I’ve discovered that distances on paper sound much easier than when you have to actually walk them with a big pack on. And by the time I got to the albergue to stop for that night, I was limping to try to keep pressure off the blisters that were forming on my feet, not to mention pretty red from a sunburn. The next day, Tuesday, I backed off a bit and my friends from the previous day caught up with me as I was trying to let my feet breath a bit in the midday breeze. I hopped up and walked along with them and we stopped at what was for me mile 14. By the end I was hurting pretty bad and the hobbling to avoid blister pain was making other parts of my foot hurt. I decided to take today even easier and walked 7 miles before stopping for the day. I figured that the day was shot and was getting kinda bummed about overdoing it, fretting whether I would be able to finish, and considering lots of ‘what if’ scenarios. It seems I had not learned my lesson to be reasonable about what I could actually do and not. But the Lord is patient. As I was sitting at a table in a little alleyway tonight reading a book while waiting for a restaurant to open for dinner, I hear my name. I look up to find Peter and Kristen, the couple who interviewed me for their podcast. I invited them to join me and we had a great conversation over a delicious dinner, cold cokes, and gelato. As we sat there talking, laughing, and contemplating this journey we are collectively making, I marveled at how the Lord works. I was caught up in so many worries and thoughts in my head and He reconnected me with these two friends who helped me to set my eyes where they ought to be - The Lord.

I’m not entirely sure what tomorrow holds, but I trust that the Lord will lead me to where he wants to be. Like a donkey on the trail.