We rose this morning expecting everything to continue as usual. So, after watching the Running of the Bulls from Pamplona on the morning news, we headed off. Boy were we in for a surprise!
Pilgrims were coming out from everywhere. Families with mother, father, grandparents and children; older folk, younger folk. Boys with girlfriends, and youth groups. The casual Camino has begun. At the 100 kilometer mark so many people join the Way to make their journey.
Gone are the long stretches without seeing anyone for hours. Now laughing and chatting from those who have just entered are becoming the new norm. It makes our quiet time more difficult, but we will keep trying. We still will begin each day with a prayer and blessing when we mention, by name our particular intention for the day, then we impose our silence and begin.
At dinner tonight, one of our fellow pilgrims, from Germany, that we met a few days ago, lamented the t had begun. We had been calling it the Casual Camino, but tsunami had such a good ring to it. Well, we realized today, if we hadn't before, that this mountain top experience couldn't last. As we begin our final 60 miles we will need to begin to integrate the lessons learned into everyday life. We will need to find the silence even when things around us are growing louder. Hopefully we will also remember the beauty of the world we passed through.
And the confusions we encountered...
And the new friends we met...
Of course this isn't the final post and there will be much more to experience, but this change in the dynamic of the hike does bring to mind that we are almost at the end. It's almost hard to believe that it's almost a year since I began to plan this journey. I had no idea what God had in mind for me and I am still looking forward to surprises from Him.
Until next time, God bless, pray for us and know of our prayers for you.
Fr. Roux
