April 2, 21013 Day 3 –  (Zubiri to Pamplona)

Outer Journey

Of course I may be too fatigued to remember the others, but today was the most difficult day of my life!  I walked from Zubiri to Barcelona; which is approximately 27 kilometers.  It wasn´t the distance that was so bad it was the territory:  Cement;  Industrial; Muddy and just plain terrible.  About one quarter of the way I walked along the most skinny and muddy path.  There was a cross at the side of the path memorializing where someone had their ¨fin de camino¨.  It was sad because someone passed away there but I understood why.  It was a viable option at the moment.  I barely crawled into Pamplona today in tears.

People say that there are times along the way that the whole idea seems really stupid.  Today was one of them!

Inner Journey

The Camino has many names and one of the is The Way of the Sword. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, there is a clear masculine energy that called me to the Camino. I don´t know what I will learn but I have no doubt it will be life changing.  Today gave me clues.  The walk was hard today.  Not the feminine type of hard like I imagine childbirth would be like (I haven´t given birth to my own children) or staying up all night because a child is sick.  This was a different type of hard like walking through a gauntlet. Today took a type of will and determination I haven´t had to use in a long time.  The first 2 kilometers were lovely and a small restaurant appeared out of nowhere that offered some refreshment and I ran into some of my new friends there.  After that, the next 7 kilomters was all cement and industrial areas.  It was hard on the feet and legs.  It was destitute and bleak.  I then passed a raging and powerful river that was ferocious.  I thought if I got anywhere near it it would sweep me away.  This lead to the most muddy and aweful path that went up and down, up and down.  The mud was so sticky my walking shoe got stuck and came off!  I had mud in my shoes and between my toes.  The worst part of it was I knew the Camino was laughing at me – testing me.  I realized that every day the Camino gave me a different challenge.  The first day it was non-stop climbing.  The second day was freezing rain (however it was still joyful because the energy of the land was so light and enchanting) and today was just plain hell.

After sloshing through the mud and I thought I couldn´t make it any further, I came upon the most beautiful daffodils outside a little church in the middle of nowhere.  Daffodils are my favorite flower.  I visited the church.  There was a small meditation room on the second floor.  I then climbed the steps (very skinny and steep) to the bell tower and rang the bell for all of us…all of our hopes and dreams.

Then came the march.  A long walk of around 7 kilometers through the Trinidad de Arre, a dreadful city.  I literally felt like an alien walking through this strange city that looked like it just survived a nuclear disaster.  The road was straight and went on forever.  My legs were so tired it took every piece of strength I had to put one foot in front of the other.  I actually had to stop and use my arms to physically move my leg forward when it wouldn´t move.  And I marched 7 kilometers through and on to Pamplona.  Entering Pamplona was just plain strange. I felt like a warrior that was gone for a decade and returning to an changed and unfamiliar land.  It was strange to see all of the stores and shops and smell the food and see people all dressed up.  I can imagine what homeless people feel like being a part of an environment that has nothing to due with them.

One of the most difficult part of the day was I had no one to walk with.  It was one of those experiences where the Camino separated everyone.  And I say the Camino did this because we all intended to meet up at several places and itnever happened.  The Camino is definitely in control here.  A few of us are walking to leave behind the need to plan, predict and control…thank you Camino for being such a strict teacher.

Still, a worth while day!  As I uploaded the photos, I was surprised at how pretty they were.  The Camino has a way of offering a gift ¨just around the corner¨ when I feel I can´t bare it anymore.  It happened all day today.  How is your personal quest going?

Buen Camino!

Alie