Day 12: Belorado to Ages

Miles Day/Total/To Go: 22.0/176.9/340.2
Weather:Hot & Sunny

This, was to be the day where I was going to get a jump on the day and make the walk to Ages without the peak sun and heat. I left Belorado at 6:15am alone in good spirits and at a good pace.  Leaving alone in the dark turned out to be not the smartest thing to do. I missed one if the markers and marched about 8km off course. I wound up going through many farmers fields and needing to do a fairly treacherous stream crossing over a broken irrigation sluice (probably 20+ years below my, age bracket). Needless to say I was more than a bit frustrated but resolved to make up for my stupidity and walked 22 mikes into Ages through the peak heat of the day.

Needless to say the forgiveness topic got put off another day. I spent the day meditating on why I am such a Lone Wolf in much of what I do. I seem to gravitate to doing things alone and find not beingg alone uncomfortable.  This serves me well sometimes and not so much many other times.  I have ni answers but am resolved ti be more integrated going forward. 

In a more positive note I caught up to Bob from NC we walked into Ages found a super Albergue and had a fantastic Paella meal with great folks from French Canada,  Australia and Slovenia. 

Looking forward to the shorter walk to Burgos tomorrow and a nice rest day there.

Day 11: Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Belorado

Miles Day/Total/To Go: 14.2/154.9/356.7
Weather: Hot & Sunny

Slept in until 7am, it felt good but not good. Got walking at 7:20 instead of the normal 6:20. That means I lost a precious 60 minutes and the associated kilometers of comfortable pre sunrise comfortable walking. I was hoping to walk an additional 4.8km to Tosantos but the heat of the day made that unadvisable.

Needless to say, today was walked solo and it was a grind. I did bid La Rioja adieu and pass in Castilla de Leon; so progress was made.

Today I tried to focus on forgiveness but the sun was baking my walnut for a brain so I switched back to grind it out mode. The scenery was nice and the terrain had the now normal challenging ups and downs.  But the day was a grind, Belorado has some sort if local festival going on today so dinner tonight may be  a challenge.

The places Pilgrims stay at are called Albergues and the marketing for them tends to be subtle. There are exceptions I passed the first Albergue in Belorado and could only think of Pedro's South of the Border in I95 on the Border of North and South Carolina. It was kind of a shock. I walked right by it and got a bed in the Parochial Albergue. Nice, clean and friendly run by a Swiss Couple.

Looking forward to a good night sleep and an earlier start to the day mañana.

Day 10: Najara to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Miles Day/Total/To Go: 13.0/140.7/369.7
Weather: Mix of sun & clouds

Sorry for the choppy blog posts,  what is getting saved and published is not always what I think. The saving to the Google account is not always what I have currently on my phone,  so version control with the spotty Camino Internet is not always what is expected. Kathy, my awesome wife, is doing the publishing but what I think I've saved and what is there us not always what I think.

Relatively short walk today,  13 miles gradually uphill the whole way in cloudier and simewhat cooler conditions. Focused largely on prayer on todays walk, both praying and what prayer actually does. I believe it can do much, sometimes it takes some time. For example,  I really think that my Grandmother's (and Godmother - Gretrude) prayed for me a lot when my first Marriage collapsed. I think her prayers played a meaningful role in me getting my act together and returning to the Church. So I've been praying for family and friends, I hope someday they will help. In particular, for those estranged from one another and those who no longer view the church as a meaningful entity.

From a more esthetic viewpoint, today's walk was very beautiful little. Many hills and valleys and the cloud cover gave things a different chromatic timbre....very beautiful. There is a miracle ascribed to the town if Santo Domingo de ls Calzada that involves chickens. This made me think of my Mom & Dad and also put a grin on my face!