My Camino (pt. 2)...

The reasons people choose to walk the Camino de Santiago are as varied as the nearly two hundred and fifty thousand souls that walk it each year. Some walk it for spiritual reasons, some walk it for adventure, to prove to themselves they can do it, etc. I think my reasons were a combination these. Most people's reasons are personal and different from the rest. Everyone has to walk their own Camino and the other pilgrims along the way understand this. Some people ask why. I never asked anyone why. Their reasons were their reasons. I felt it was an intrusion to ask.
I am not and never have been athletic. I'm out of shape to say the least, but once I committed I knew I would complete it. I would recommend the walk to anyone who would ask if it was worth it. My advice would be to walk as much as possible before attempting it. The stress on my body was severe. I didn't realize how severe until I returned home. I'm actually still recovering, but feel that I'm almost back to myself. Here are a few more pictures.

 This is the street the walk begins on. The sign on the left is a store that sells Camino gear. I bought my Altus rain poncho here. Across the street is the Official Office where you sign up to walk, get your Pilgrim's Passport (the one the stamps go in), and a shell (the symbol of the Camino) to tie on your backpack. It was raining the day we arrived and continued to rain as we started our walk.

This is an example of the many water fountains along the way where you could fill your water bottles. If the water wasn't potable there would be a sign telling you that. The water was excellent.

This is a Monastery we spent the night at. It was beautiful inside. There was a bridge over running water that we walked over to get to it.

This is one of the symbols to watch for as you walk. This sea shell along with yellow arrows mark the way and let you know you have not strayed from the path. If you haven't seen one of these symbols in awhile then it's time to stop, get your map out, and assess the situation.

An example of the concrete markers that point the way.

Example of another source of water. Wine came out of one spigot and water came out the other.

The roads were long and winding and sometimes took us through tunnels, over bridges, up and down hills and mountains, but always to our destinations.

Notice the yellow arrows.

At home I had 70 second graders following my path and rooting me on.

Knowing that these sweet kids were following me kept me going.

The terrain could be very rough.

A place for pilgrim's to take a short break.



More pictures to come.

To Be Continued...