A LITTLE SAD

Posted bymichelleperramPosted inCamino de Santiago, Pilgrimage, Spain, SpiritualityTags:, , ,

20 September 2023, Camino 3, Day 21

San Martin del Camino to Astorga

San Martin and Astorga are just off the map.

Today we are taking a taxi to Astorga. My right ankle has been slightly swollen this entire walk and frankly we were really worn out last night.

Yesterday was a 16+mile day and today is also 16+ miles. It’s the difficult part of planning the camino. Our time is limited so we have no days off. Walking everyday can be a lot on the joints. I’m sure 800 years ago pilgrims would simply stay in one place until they healed. Today with reservations, schedules, and more that doesn’t work for us. So today is a taxi stage. We are off to Astorga.

The reason I’m a little sad 😢 is because Astorga symbolizes the end of the meseta. While the paths along the highway aren’t the most pleasant they are flat and when I’m not struggling to go up hill or carefully watching my feet going down I am free to let my mind wander about. Will there be another camino? What will life be like when Glen retires? Any more grandchildren? What will my life be comprised of? So many thoughts.

Sunrise over San Martin ☀️

In Astorga we experienced a new kind of adventure or at least I did. My right foot has been bothering me and since we are in town for the day it seems a good time to see a physiotherapist for a treatment on my foot/ankle. We went to a couple of places and none could see me before Friday. There are lots of pilgrims needing physiotherapy from the waist down. So we finally settled down in a cafe and I tried to make phone calls. Communicating in a foreign language is difficult at best and impossible over the phone. I actually had to interrupt a woman having coffee with her mother to see if she could interpret.

I finally got an appointment for today. This clinic had an amazing feature…if I didn’t understand the guy he would do something and a digital voice would answer my question. Bliss!

After an hour session of massage and manipulation the physiotherapist taped my foot up, told me to not carry too much weight, and to let the discomfort guide me in walking.

I’ll keep you posted.

Buen Camino

Is this too much weight 😜

Lunch was great!

Seafood paella

On the plaza…

Beautiful day
Descanso means a place to relax
All the backpacks ready to be sent ahead.

Published by michelleperram

I am me, a person with love for others, a passion to be creative, and a desire to be a cheerleader for others. I’m a wife, a mommy, and a grandma (you can call me by my grandma name “Lady M”). I’m on a search to grow and connect more fully with God. I didn’t grow up particularly church, married a man who had, and we raised our three daughters in the church. I found a place to belong in the church and somehow discerned a call to go to seminary. I received a Masters of Arts and Religious Communication (MARC). I went on to become ordained as a deacon in the United Methodist Church and served in media ministry and Christian education. As clergy I found that I didn’t have a place to belong in the church so I left the United Methodist Church in 2010. I still believe and I’m still on a quest to draw closer to God. And I’m going to walk the Camino de Santiago.

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