I then continued onward only a bit further through the town of Fuentesnuevas to its church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption) – a place that radiated much of the Peace of The Way of its professed Lord & Savior, and very little of the concerning condemnations professed by the […]
Onward I walked into the town of Camponaraya, where I paused at the Paroquia de San Ildefonoso – a church that proved once again that, just as a book cannot be properly judged by its cover – nor a person properly condemned by his or her indoctrinated ignorance (or even acquired wisdom), a building’s sense […]
Newsflash: not all Sanctuaries are found in solitude, and not all Sanctuaries have four walls. “It is crucial to understand that solace is not meant to be an answer in & of itself, but is rather an invitation that opens – often through the door of pain and difficulty – to the innately profound & […]
And it was shortly thereafter that I remembered (and re-membered) yet another crucial Life Lesson; one that both Camino pilgrims & Life pilgrims would all do well to embody – namely: that whenever an imminent encounter looks likely to be closed off or under-appreciative or in any way dysfunctional*; if there ever is an obvious […]
I was exceptionally tired this afternoon for whatever reason(s), so I intentionally experimented with “doze-walking” between Camponaraya and the town of Cacabelos – literally choosing to close my eyes and sleep in 10-15 second bursts while walk-bumbling down The Way. And this tactic actually worked with a surprising measure of success, having me not only […]
I flowed thereafter through Cacabelos proper to the farther outskirts of town, where I once again came upon the local Municipal Albergue – the hostel where I had stayed the night some eleven years prior, and a hostel that was bound to a most magnificent church at its center (the Iglesia Nuestra Senora de las […]
I was really “running out of gas” on this particular afternoon – feeling tired and slow and down and even a bit despondent as I trudged up the road along The Way. And I stopped into this particular roadside garden to sit and in the shade and recollect my resolve. Most days — whenever feeling […]
Even at my fatigue-infected pace it didn’t take long for me to hobble into the village of Pieros and down to the wayside hostel of El Sorbal y La Luna (translation: The Rowan Tree & the Moon). And no sooner did I round a small bend and enter its foyer-garden enclave than I felt deeply […]
Shortly after my arrival a handful of other pilgrims steadily arrived and settled in for the night; fellow wanderers who all carried with them their own brand of wisdom on their own unique journeys. There was Lars from Denmark (“Every day there is a new reason to walk the Camino”) and there was Hannah from […]
Despite Mar’s lovely offer for me to stay on at the hostel for another few days (&/or take up a more permanent residence in the town’s overlooking hermitage), it was Right to continue onward. So after a relatively restless night’s sleep under the dining room table (there was nowhere else for a tall pilgrim to […]
Far more often than not I was already on The Road by the time the Sun began to rise, and I rejoiced wholeheartedly with a sigh and a radiant smile every time it did so … “Morning somehow brings back the more heroic ages. There is something cosmical about the rising Sun; a standing advertisement […]
;
