Day 5 – Easier day Roncesvalles to Zubiri
22k – 47k to date
I started about 8:00am this morning, again after all campers peeled out starting about 6:30, did I mention it doesn’t get light until 7:30. Boy, there are a lot of pilgrims in a hurry.
Walking in the morning is fairly easy and good for me, after lunch, I get a little tired. Today turned out to be a greater test than I expected. Everything was up and what goes up, must come down. But then over here, what goes down must go back up. The villages are all in valleys and you descend into them and then literally climb back out. All in all, I think today was a tougher day than yesterday’s gentle climb and descent.
Today was the day my mental check happened. First, why am I here, second, am I prepared to stay at this for about 5 weeks. The answer to the first was a puzzling question as I have answered that many times to myself. I have had this on the list of to do’s for a long time. I knew that with changes at work, age, health and then family support, now was the time. After arguing with myself for about an hour, I knew I wanted to be here and the my normal world would happen in spite of me being here. The second question is a harder answer.. I miss family, friends and my routines. There is no question that this adventure will stretch me!
About today, the views coming down the foothills of the mountains were amazing. It is nice to get up, walk a few kilometers and then stop at a market for some fruit for breakfast, then continue onwards. Every time I have been in Europe, it amazes me the age of things. America is just not very old.
I had dinner with John and his son Martin from Scotland, they reminded me they are Scottish, not British. Apparently there are some hard feelings between the two countries from a few hundred years ago. They loved their football (soccer) and talked about it for an hour. It is amazing how easy it is to visit with people here.
Rest time..
1 Peter 4:9 (some of these I have no idea where they come from, so if they don’t fit the theme, that is ok)