I have tried to not bring up the snoring matter for a few days, but it is still a sore subject! I deal with this night after night after night. So be gentle with me if I mention it again, but last night was another snoring nightmare! My bunkmate (I was on the bottom and he was on the top) was a very talented snorer. He initially came across as a chainsaw snorer, as he had great volume and could stretch it out for a long period of time. But what made his talent unique is that he added some style points on the end of his snore - they were sounds I can’t even describe. It was fascinating - for about 30 seconds. After the thirty seconds I wanted to say, “Buddy, put a sock in it - in fact let me just put one of my smelly socks in it!” But I didn’t do that - didn’t figure that would be Christ-like.
But then add to that snoring the fact that another one of my roomies talked in his sleep! He didn’t just say a word or two in his sleep; he yelled out several sentences. And then he would taper off and just mumble and mutter for awhile. Again, fascinating, but tough to sleep through! I tried to figure out which language it was, but it was foreign to me.
But then, what probably was the worst part of my night took place outside the room. In Spain, and I am assuming that is just while the weather is good, they have outdoor bars. They will set up tables and chairs outside in the streets. Unbeknownst to me, there were two of those bars behind our hostel, which would have been just right outside my window. The noise went on all night. Literally, all night! There was yelling, laughing, singing (a choir of drunk people slurring their songs), arguing loudly - you name it. All night long they disturbed my peace. Initially, I thought that it would shut down at 1:00 or 2:00 AM. But I guess there are no such laws in this country. This took place all night long - did I say that it was all night long? I was never so glad to see 5:30 AM roll around. Now, I had made the decision to leave a little bit later this morning. Even though I like walking in the dark, my problem is that I get to my lodging before noon, and most places won’t check you in until 1:00 or 2:00. That means I have to stand around waiting an hour or two. So I thought I’d leave a little bit later this morning. But with the events of my night, I was ready to get out of this house of horror.
So I stepped out into the streets, looked at my app, and figured out which way the Camino went. I was to go left half a block and then make another left. And as I did so, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The Camino went right through that area where these people had partied all night. Here early in the morning, there were still probably 100 people outside the building, standing around drinking and just doing what they had done all night.
The outdoor bar
Now, so far I have walked about 135 miles on the Camino. I have walked many hours in the dark where I didn’t see a soul for two hours. I have walked in big cities, and as a whole, I have felt relatively safe. At times I felt a little apprehensive when I wasn’t sure if I was on the trail. But this moment made me very uneasy. I was going to have to go right through a crowd of a hundred mainly intoxicated people. I knew they probably wouldn’t hurt me, but you get that many people together under the influence, and they do silly things. So I paused, kind of mapped out my route, lowered my head so as not to make eye contact with anyone, and headed into the crowd. I know Jesus probably wouldn’t have done what I did, but I was in no mood to try to witness to a hundred intoxicated people at the moment. It probably only took me about 10 seconds to get through the crowd, but it seemed like an eternity. I was so glad when they were behind me, and even more happy when they were out of sight.
Once I got out of town, I relaxed and turned on praise and worship music. It seemed that my legs were a bit heavy today. They didn’t hurt, they just didn’t seem to have a lot of pop in them. Maybe it was due to the sleepless night, or maybe it was due to the fact that yesterday had been an extra long mileage day, or maybe even the fact that I haven’t taken a zero-mile day yet. But with my dead legs I resigned myself to the fact that today might just be a little bit of a slog. And it was, but you know what? I was still on the right path. Every time I checked my app or looked at the signs on the sidewalk, I was still on the correct trail.
Since the trail just seemed a bit more boring and mundane than usual, I began asking God, “God, what do I need to learn today? What do you want to teach me?” I felt that God really did speak to me. He brought up my day yesterday that I talked about in my blog - a day where I had that incredible “God moment.” I was still basking in the glow of that amazing day!
But I felt that God told me, “Joe you don’t need another God moment today - rather what you need today are some moments with God.” I actually had to think about that for a little bit. Why didn’t I need another God moment? I mean I love God moments. But as I thought about it and reflected on Scripture, I realized that God moments are not everyday occurrences. They are necessary, but nowhere do you see God moments happening every day.
Moses had a God moment on Mount Sinai. But it didn’t happen every day. Jonah had a God moment in the belly of the whale. The Apostle Paul had a God moment on the road to Damascus. I had a God moment yesterday on the Camino de Santiago. But God moments don’t take place every day.
However, today I felt God was telling me that moments with God do need to happen every day. Moments with God are those times we spend with God every day. They are moments we spend with God during the valleys, during the storms, during those times when our legs are tired. But remember, just because our day is a slog doesn’t mean we are off track. Just because you don’t have a God moment every day doesn’t mean that you have gone astray. Just check The App and The Book and keep putting one foot in front of the other. That’s what I did today.
Sure enough, actually in really good time, I arrived at my home for the night at the Casa del Santo (House of the Holy or the Saint) in Santo Domingo de la Calzada. I didn’t have a God moment today, but I had nearly 5 hours of moments with God, and it was incredible.
So as you go about your day, don’t necessarily seek a God moment today - rather seek some moments with God! I think God will see fit to give you a God moment at exactly the right time!
My next car!
A creative way to transport your stuff
I actually took time to pet this cat! What’s gotten into me??
Home for the night is in sight!
The albergues don’t want our smelly shoes in the bunk rooms - we have to put them on shelves. Same with the trekking poles.
View from the 3rd-story room of my Albergue
Buen Camino!
The red arrow shows where I am now in my progress on the Camino
Approximate total miles: 560
Approximate miles walked today: 13
Approximate miles remaining: 425