Every day on the Camino de Santiago is exciting, right? Wrong. This was one of those days that I would call humdrum or ho-hum or even flat out boring. For almost the entire 12 miles today, the trail was beside a highway, so there was traffic and noise. Not to mention that the terrain was fairly unremarkable. It was a flat agricultural area, with a few fields that still had some sunflowers past their colorful prime, but most of the fields had been harvested!
Sunflowers past their prime
So there was no color variation - pretty much just brown all around. There was no hospital for pilgrims, as I encountered yesterday to inject a little bit of life into the morning. There was no sweet, saintly nun who would pronounce a blessing upon me. There was no incredible “God moment” to share with you, even though I did have plenty of “moments with God”. And even though the sun did rise, the conditions didn’t make for any outstanding photography. To top it all off, there were no coffee shops open for the entire 12 miles today! So it was just one of those days - nothing to really write home about.
We have those kinds of days a lot, don’t we? Days that seem long where we go to work, and then in the evening chase kids around to different activities, and then try to do a bit of yard work or house work only to fall in bed exhausted. And really, that’s the majority of life. It’s only on occasion that you get to celebrate a Super Bowl victory, or go on a cruise, or head out on vacation to an exotic place, or even make that getaway to Branson. Most of our days are just ho-hum, and humdrum, and flat out boring.
So what do we do on those boring days? We just keep doing what we have to do! That is what I did today on this very unremarkable day. I continued to put one foot in front of the other. Even though I am not at my strongest these days, with God’s strength I was still able to cover the approximately 12 miles in a little over 3 1/2 hours. I arrived at my hostel ready to rest my body so I could experience what God has for me tomorrow on the Camino de Santiago.
I really don’t want to focus on this, but I know some of you have been praying for me. After 2 1/2 days of fever, at yesterday’s village, I did find a little clinic. It was interesting that they only saw patients from 9:00-10:00 in the morning and 6:00-8:00 in the evening. So I lined up before 6:00 pm and waited. I did note that other pilgrims were coming in with more serious conditions and injuries. When they opened the doors, the first thing they did was give me a Covid test. Just as Covid is making its rounds again in the US, so is it here in Europe. The test came back negative, so the doctor did an assessment on me. And when she was finished, she basically said that the good news was that it was not terminal, but the bad news was that it was not treatable. 😆 Actually the news was pretty good; she determined that I had a viral respiratory infection (flu!). The bad news was that there would be no antibiotic that would speed up the healing process as there would be if it were a bacterial infection. She said, “You’re going to have to be patient and know that you won’t be at your best on the Camino for a few days.”
I definitely did not feel strong today, but I do think that perhaps I am starting to turn the corner. Hopefully in the next few days, I will be back to full strength again. Thanks for your prayers.
Coming into home for the night
Waiting for a restaurant to open so I can get my meal for today - nothing opens until 7:00 pm! But the view is nice.
Oh, just a little perk - for some reason they gave me a private room at the hostel today. I didn’t argue! The Lord was so gracious to arrange this without my knowledge. (There are actually sheets on the bed and towels in the bathroom!) I’ll sleep better when I am needing rest the most. Thank you, God, for this little unexpected blessing today!
Buen Camino!
Approximate total miles: 560
Approximate miles walked today: 12
Approximate miles remaining: 327