It was weird this morning to get out of bed and not go through my regular process — putting salve on my feet, trying to carefully put my shoes on so as not to further damage them, and preparing to walk the equivalent of El Dorado Springs to Nevada (for you who are El Do locals). With the miles that I walked in the evenings after my arrival to the hostels, that was the average distance of my daily walk.
Today, I had a couple short walks to a coffee shop and a couple of medium-length walks (we Americans might say long walks!) from the bus station to the train station and back to the bus station. I am getting ready now to leave my hostel to go find some supper. But probably my total miles today will only be around 3! I texted my wife and told her that I felt like a lazy slob.
I’ll admit, it’s been a little bit frustrating today. I made it okay on the bus from Finisterre to Santiago. But because the online booking was not working yesterday, I hoped that when I got here I could get a train ticket to Madrid for this afternoon. But they informed me that they are totally booked until Wednesday. I considered walking it! (Not really — it’s 370 miles.)
With trains being full, I tried to get creative and think of other ways I could get there. I checked flight schedules, and couldn’t get anything there. Then I checked on a bus schedule. They had a bus that would leave at 3:00 this afternoon and arrive in Madrid at 3:00 AM, but by the time I could change my American Airlines flight reservation to accommodate that arrival in Madrid, the last seat on the bus was sold.
I ended up spending over two hours on the phone trying to book trains, buses, planes, and lodging. I think I have everything set now. It’s definitely not my ideal travel schedule, but I leave Santiago tomorrow late morning, and arrive in Madrid about 8:15 in the evening. I’ll overnight there, then have a noon flight to Dallas, then to Kansas City, which should allow me to pull into my driveway about midnight on Wednesday.
Enough of that; but if you know anything about me, part of my personality (that I’m not proud of) is that I’m not a very patient person and I don’t like to wait. Evidently I didn’t learn this lesson well enough on the Camino, so God is still working on this old boy, trying to teach him patience. Waiting is many times a gift from God.
But I’m a slow learner, so perhaps God is needing a couple of extra days to try to get this through my thick skull. And maybe, just maybe, you are like me and need reminders like this too. God has ways of teaching us lessons that may be frustrating at the moment. But down the line they will help shape us into the vessel He wants us to be!
I don’t have a lot to say today, but I just wanted to elaborate a little bit more on the gratitude I feel within my heart. I’ve already mentioned it, but I am so grateful to our church board for allowing me this time away. I’m very honored to be able to work with a team that gets it!
I’m also grateful for the staff that has stepped up to the plate in my absence, and has done what needed to be done. Those of you who spoke on Sunday mornings, I’m so very grateful for you. You set the bar high and it will be hard for me to come back and achieve your level of excellence!
And then thank you to my wonderful wife, Faith, and my girls Erica and Becca, for helping cover some of the responsibilities at home. They have been so amazingly supportive!
Just really fast, let me give you some information tidbits that I found interesting:
The approximate cost of my 39 nights of lodging: $600.
The approximate number of café con leches I ordered on the Camino: 90
Completely different types and styles of snoring identified: 8
Cross words said by pilgrims: Zero!
Approximate different nationalities identified on the Camino: 25
Most beds/roommates for one night: 36
Most embarrassing moment: Waking myself up by making a siren sound in my sleep.
Number of cats seen on the Camino: A lot
Food I have craved the most: Chips and salsa
Leaving at the right time. The rain has arrived in Spain!
That’s it for today. I will probably have one more post tomorrow.
Approximate miles remaining: 4,201 to Missouri!