April 7, 2013 Day 8 Monjardin – Torres del Rio (17 km)
Outer Journey
After yesterdays steep climb, the walk today was manageable. I passed through Cruce, Los Arcos, Sonsol and stayed the night in Torres de Rio. The town of Torres del Rio is famous for its eight-sided church built by the Knight´s Templar.
Inner Journey
Évery day The Camino brings a different type of obstacle. Today it was the strong and cold winds that I was walking directly into. The winds were biting cold…and they must have been 70 miles per hour. There were times I thought I would be blown off the path in more ways than one. Also, there are parts of The Camino that are kilometer upon kilometer of concrete paths along the highway.
There is a beautiful saying at the Hill of Forgiveness (I believe that was after Roncesvalles) that says, ¨Donde se cruca el camino del viento con el de las estrellas¨or ¨Where the the wind path crosses the star path¨. This seems like an appropriate sentiment for today for many reasons. The wind was strong and discouraging, however, I still aspired to move on and continue. I walked through everything today; industrial zones and bleak areas. When I finally felt like I couldn´t take the dreary landscape anymore, I would look up and I would see the most beautiful scene or flower. For over a weak now The Camino is showing me contradictions, opposition and turning me upside down and inside out. I can´t say it always feels good. How is your Quest going?
Buen Camino!
Alie
3 Comments
DelphineMcLean
April 14, 2013 - 1:12 amMy Dear Dulcinea: How we love to hear from you ! We wish you could tell us the sun was shinning instead of so much cold wind and rain. But as my dear Alison used to say “it is what it is” She always made the best of the situation and more importantly she tried to learn from every experience. So have courage but take care not to be too fearless. By the way that is advice from your knight D.Q. who learned the hard way that a little caution goes a long way. He also advises making friends along the way. You do not mention the people you have encountered after Elena and Xavier. Do you think you might meet them again.
DelphineMcLean
April 14, 2013 - 1:45 amDear Dulcinea: I still don’t know how to use the internet and and I think I messed up the first comment, /what was trying to say was it is so important to walk with others, especially the many from all over the world. The pictures you sent with your last post look lonely. Was it because it was very early? Walking with others makes the difficult passages not only bearable but appear shorter and even fun. So they tell me! Your aunt Rochelle (Raquel) has a friend who did the Camino and like you she posted her entire trip. She did it in the late fall so the weather was no better than in early Spring. She had a wonderful experience, even though there were plenty of rough spots. She had some
important observations that I think would be helpful to you. I will write about them in your next post. You can still be adventurous while avoiding the worst problems.
We love your posts and think the photos are marvelous. Also will love to hear about your textingl. I wish I wasn’t so technically challenged.
Lori
April 14, 2013 - 3:52 amI am so proud of you girl… Everyone in the house is with you, I love being with you through your journey… Much love and peace Lori