8 hours 10 minutes-33.2 km
I think that every village is at the bottom of a long steep hill, as it seems each morning we have a good climb, with the light from our little headlamp bobbing along in the dark.
We walked to what we thought would be our next destination and arrived before 11AM and the Pilgrim hostel would not be open till 3PM.
The next village was about a 2 1/2 hours away.
It is Sunday and nearly everything is closed. We got a bite to eat and decided to push on.
We had the toughest longest climb and a very steep descent. It was longer than we thought and seemed like it took forever.
We found the place we intended to stay and there was nobody there and it looked dirty and uncomfortable. We backtracked through the village and found a private hostel.
When we got there the man was explaining in Spanish and I couldn't talk to him in English, let alone Spanish.
I completely shut down. I plopped down on a chair and started crying. MELT DOWN!!
Ron arranged for our stay, I flopped on my bunk to take a nap. I started to shake uncontrollably.
I knew my sugar levels and electro-lites must be out of whack and I was having symptoms of hypothermia.
Ron got me orange juice and water, and I took a very long, and very hot shower, then slept for about I hour. Then I has some tea and a sugary pastry and another bottle of water.
I am fine now.
The high points of the day were the beautiful medieval churches, the ruins of a 14th century convent, and the ruins of a castle high on the hill above a village we passed through.
My lesson for the day is as Joyce Rupp recommends in her wonderful book "Walk In A Relaxed Manner". The title says it all.
No more rushing. Normally we stop for a break and eat something and drink plenty of water and juice, at least every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. But today we slogged on too far and too fast on a strenuous terrain without breaks.
Tomorrow will be a slow and leisurely walk with lots of breaks.
Love to all
Rita
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
It's important to take good care of that body! It's good you rested up and got yourself balanced again. Your picture shows spectacular scenery. Sometimes when you are slogging, it's easy to forget to look and admire!
ReplyDeleteWell Rita. We all have to learn (sometimes the hard way) just exactly what our bodies will let us do. Glad you could get some sugar in you --and got to rest. Hopefully today will be a much better day.. What you are doing has to be very hard on the old body--no matter what shape one is in. Take it easy, my friend.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
Listen to your body, ABSOLUTELY! Your pace is your pace, whatever that may be. Your destination isn't going to move farther away; just take your time, relax, enjoy, follow your body and energy and pace…and you'll arrive at your goal.
ReplyDeleteTake the time to reflect, contemplate, examine—to discover what you came to find. You can't do that if you're rushing, exhausted, in pain—or stressed.
It's a pilgrimage, not a race. You can do this.
grammy- i got a little scared when i read this blog, but i know you can do anything. i'm so happy to hear that you are fine now. i can't wait till you get home and tell me more stories in person. i miss you so much and im always thinking of you. byebye! love sarah
ReplyDelete