Day 38 – Final travel day, but not last post
Yesterday, I traveled from Santiago to Madrid. I went by train and it was supposed to be the high speed rail train. The first three hours was mountain climbing and curves and the speed on the train averaged about 120km/h. I knew the speed as the train car had an electronic message board that displayed route, stops, time and speed. The fourth hour speeded up some, but still was just 140km/h. We were running about 10 minutes late at the next to last stop, so the engineer turned the after burners on for the last hour and averaged above 230km/h, with a top speed of 239km/h. That was flying down the tracks at above 140mph. To add some perspective, for the last 4 plus weeks, I have been traveling at a speed of 3.5 to 5km/h. I think we covered over 500k in those five hours on the train, counting stops and it took me 32 days to travel 800k.
After arriving in Madrid, I took a cab to the hotel, that travel was worse visually and mentally than the train, so many signs flying by, so many cars zooming in and out, so much information and action. When you do it on a daily basis, you don’t think about those things, but when you have been out of cars for that long, your mind forgets the amount of information one takes in driving or riding in a car, expecially in a big city.
Needless to say, it did take a little adjustment to get back to moving by engine versus feet, not a bad adjustment, just a whole different view that one is not used to after that amount of time without an engine except the motor God gave each of us with our heart.
Today was a whole different story on speed! I flew from Madrid to Frankfurt to Chicago, then on to Denver. The realization of moving hundred of miles per hour means we traveled what was my average daily foot distance of 25k in about 7 minutes. Flying did not take a mental adjustment, I like flying, it is an efficient way to get from point a to point b. I did not hear any roosters crowing or tractors starting while traveling today, but I did cover a lot of ground.
I did feel like I needed or missed walking, so at each airport, I spent time walking halls, just to give my legs the stretch they wanted.
Do I miss anything else from my time on the Camino after just a couple of days off the trail? Yes, I miss the daily routine and simplicity, but more than that, I miss sitting with an absolute stranger at a table at a bar and having that total stranger smile and probably strike up a conversation. On the train, in last night’s restaurant, on today’s planes and at the airport areas, we would never dream of walking over to a group of strangers and say, can I sit and have lunch or a glass of oj with you at your table. In public, we lead private lives because we don’t know if we have anything in common with the person sitting next to us on the train or plane, we fail to bring our since of caring and love out in public. It was a role I fell back into immediately. I will have to work on myself, because as previously talked about, the Camino gave all the pilgrims common ground to share friendship without conditions.
I have been asked how this adventure has changed me and I am still thinking about the answer to that, I will address that in a future blog. I do know it has changed me, it brought me closer to God, closer to my family and closer to my life, which sounds strange, but sometimes an inward look is healthy.
Glad to be heading home!
Proverbs 20:24
What a trip! Thanks for sharing your heart. Love you guys.