Day 35

Day 35 – Melide to Arca (aka O Pino or O Pedrouza)
33k – 775k to date

Today led us one day closer to Santiago and the goal many have set as achieving. We are now 20k from reaching that goal. The discussion around dinner tonight was how will everyone feel once they stand in front of the Church in Santiago. Most felt it would be a joyous sense of accomplishment of what they had done over the last five weeks. I think all come feeling they will complete this journey, but then reality sets in on the first few days that walking 15 plus miles a day is not the cake walk everyone thought it would be. First, nothing is flat on this trail, you must literally hike up mountains, then down again, but not only go up and down, but up and down on stone trails that are centuries old. Then life as you knew it is thrown out the window just when you are your most tired and you are pushed into communal living that includes sleeping in rooms with as many as 100 beds in them and sharing a six stall bathroom with those 100 bunk mates, both male and female. Next is learning to find food, whether shopping in a market or ordering at a bar. Finally, you must deal with the aches and pains caused by walking on rocks, sleeping on thin mattresses and back aches from ill fitting backpacks.

All of us know people that have fallen by the wayside and decided this adventure was not for them. That is OK also, not everyone is made to climb a crooked trail up a mountain or sleep in a giant room with master snorers. But those that have made it, it is a personal accomplishment. Mine is not my personal accomplishment, but my team’s group accomplishment. Without Sherry, I would never have been able to even dream this dream. Without my three girls, I would never have been challenged to go. Without a supportive mom and dad, I would never have received the right encouragement. Without my business partners, I would never have found the time. Without my friends, I would never have received the support. Without my Church home, I would never have received the prayer to get me here. Finally, without my God, I would never have been able to take the first step or the last step.

One tool that has really been an asset on this adventure and is used multiple times every day is the guide book. I choose a “A Village To Village Guide To Hiking The Camino De Santiago”. I knew it was not the most used, but it was newly written and received good reviews, so I chose it. Probably one reason I did not choose the most used guide book was the reviews that said the author pushed personal new age views in his writing. In visiting with pilgrims and what they used, those that choose the most used Brierly guide were not overly happy with it, while those that had the guide book I used had nothing but praise for it. There were probably five times I loaned it to Brierly guide users who wanted to compare and they all wished they had mine. What makes a guide book useful? First, it must be able to lead you down the path from start to finish. Mine has a great 38 pages of pre-trip information, then the actual guide is broken down into 31 suggested stages, however the details of each stage are such that those can be adjusted easily to match your desired travel distance. Second, it has to be detailed enough to give you,the information you need on a daily basis. In my guide, each town or village had a description and also a list of places to stay the night. Also, it had a list of services available in those towns. It listed towns with a population of 4 and sleeping capacity for 6 pilgrims, that is detail. Lastly, it must be understandable by all that read it. I had an easy guide to read and use and those that compared it also thought so. My guidebook was indespensible.

I should also mention that my guidebook to understanding the universe is also indespensible. It is written to lead you from start to finish, it is detailed throughout and it is easily understood by all who really read it. What is this guidebook? The Bible. If you don’t use it on a daily basis like I did my Camino guidebook, maybe you should get it out and try using it more often and see where it leads you.

Today’s hike was a long trek of 33k, however, a group of us Americans got together about eleven and stayed together to help everyone finish the day. We pulled into Arca about five. The trek was beautiful just like the last two days, the land in this region of Galicia is very consistent. A lot of green, a lot of huge trees and a fog that stays till noon.

Hopefully one day from completion of a journey.

Psalm 119:105 (I also thought about 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

continue to day 36