Twenty.

20.

Veinte.

Only 20 km left until Santiago! Unbelievable. The past 2 weeks have both sped and crept by. Each day has passed faster and faster (partially due to our improving endurance and need for fewer rest breaks). Tomorrow, the destination we’ve had in mind for many months! Unreal.

You can nearly taste the excitement of fellow peregrinos (there are A LOT of them now; our current albergue accommodates 125, and there are dozens of similar buildings in a 5 km radius). Today we experienced smiles, dancing, singing, and even a boisterous original track sung by our Spanish friends outside Casa Verde – complete with hiking stick air guitars. Lyrics were as follows:

Julia, Julia, Julia, Evie, Julia, Julia y Evie, Jaysca, Jaysca, Julia, Evie, Jaysca…

If that can’t cheer you on your way, nothing can.

We’re now seeing different types of Camino experiences: some began just yesterday, some are traveling sections by taxi; some ship their backpacks ahead of them, and hike without a heavy load. More take bus tours, which bring them to short sections of the trail and pick them up again. Many bicyclists pass those on foot; some take more care in slowing down and announcing their approach than others.

Ivy and I took the chance to gather some castañas (chestnuts) from the forest floor today in anticipation of roasting them tonight. After we figured out how to open the spiky balls (my fingers scolded me more than once) using sticks and our feet, we couldn’t stop. We ended up with more than 0.5kg of nuts. 🙂 Just down the path, a vendor was selling roasted chestnuts, so I got to have my first taste – who knew they were soft, not crunchy? Not sure I like that part. But I will admit that Nat King Cole’s Christmas crooning was stuck in my head for much of the afternoon. 🎶

Another very pleasant day, weatherwise. Breezy, upper-60s, sunshine; great for hiking!

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s we approach Santiago, I am excited and sad all at once. I had come to El Camino with many plans and activities for self-improvement and self-discovery. I've not completed many of them. I've instead chosen to live presently, to enjoy the joy that is now; to breathe in the scents and soak in the sounds and absorb the reverberations of the voices and emotions of the people I am sharing this journey with; living presently even in the acute awareness of aching feet and stiff muscles.

I hesitate arrival in Santiago tomorrow because I know my self-improvement journey is far from over. I fear that being thrown back into "real-life", away from the exhausting yet invigorating simplicity of walking 8+ hours per day and spending the evenings preparing to do it all again, will shake me from the delightful introspective reverie that I have come to enjoy during this trip.

I came hoping to study and solidify my values, to determine my future, to perfect my prayer life. Instead, I have found comfort in simply being. I have uttered many a silent prayer while walking, oft interrupted by a breathtaking panorama or the invigorating scent of a eucalyptus forest, but never upset by these detours in thought. I have found comfort in silence; the silence broken only by wind through trees and shoes in gravel. I have found contentment in who I am and Whose I am.

I had intended to memorize scripture while walking. A few days into the trip, I was inspired to commit the book of James to memory. I will arrive in Santiago – the Spanish name for James – having learned just 3 of the 5 chapters. But I am well on my way.

I suppose this is how I feel about most things as I reach our destination – I have not attained the prize, but I am well on my way.