3 Burguete to Zubiri - 14 miles

 “Well, that was pretty much horrible.”

This phrase was uttered by more than one pilgrim today as they entered the village of Zubiri where our walk ended today. Because, after all, today’s walk was difficult. 

After a simple breakfast of toast and an apple, we departed Burguete and joined the long line of pilgrims on the Camino today. 

Many are saying that there are more pilgrims than normal this year, mostly because many weren’t able to travel the past few years due to covid, particularly Americans. In fact, at one point the trail was fairly narrow, and there were so many people, many walking fastly, that I had to step aside and let them pass. Maybe I was just tired and crabby, but it was too much for me. Once they passed, however, it was much nicer and afforded me two things. 

First, I was able to notice the beauty that was surrounding me, mostly in the many flowers. At a basic level, all we’re doing is walking - a fairly mundane and monotonous task. But if we slow down and look around, there is much beauty around us. 

Second, I had a wonderful conversation with a young woman from Maine (who now lives in Spain) named Kate. This is pretty normal in the Camino. You meet all sorts of people from all over. We happened to be walking side by side and just started talking…Where are you from? Is this your first Camino? How far are you planning to walk? We then talked about her interest in shepherding.  Yes, the animal kind (not the ministry kind.) It was wonderful and probably a future homily! Did you know that some shepherds are trying to figure out how to allow their heeds to live harmoniously with wolves?  There’s probably a lezson in there for our world today. 

Speaking of people you meet, I had a “second breakfast” today (that is a morning stop for a snack - I had Spanish tortilla which is basically an egg and potato omelette and fresh squeezed orange juuce) with a guy from Beligium who started in Le Puy France 800 kilometers away (new bucket list item?) and two guys from Australia via Brazil whom I met the first night. I had lunch with Saffi from Israel and at dinner we saw a nice couple from California who I met earlier. It’s pretty cool to walk past a cafe and have folks yell “hi” to you. 

So, these are the bright spots. But as I started with, there are also real difficulties. We are still in the Pyrenees and our descent into our destination of Zubiri was steep, rocky and seemed never-ending. In short, it was horrible!  And my body agrees…my hips and legs are screaming at me. 

But all the other good things make it worth it. And thank God for trekking polls that help you keep balance and take some if the stress off your joints.

As I write this in bed, I’m tired and sore but also grateful for another day of experiencing God’s grace in new and unexpected ways. Now, time for a good night’s rest. 

Buon camino!