Constance’s Camino 5
Recuerdos
We walked the Camino de Santiago ten years ago, but Constance has a few recuerdos as well as memories…here she is sitting on the very hanky that she shared my pocket with, and surrounded by other mementos…
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1 Spanish Euro
She saved one Spanish Euro, because it shows the Santiago Cathedral (and it fit into her scrip!).
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Journal and Maps
We had an excellent map, and Constance kept a very small journal – just a sentence or two per day…
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Credencial
…and we collected a stamp wherever we could, showing the places we stopped on the way to Santiago. (Human pilgrims have to collect these in an official Camino passport, to prove that we walked the whole way!). In Santiago, the humans can collect a Compostela accreditation certificate.
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recipe
We also collected a postcard with a recipe for Tarta de Santiago…
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Tarta
…and we make one every year in July…
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cake
…Today is the Feast Day of Santiago (St James)!
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West of Pamplona
According to our map the walk from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago is 787 kilometres…I am sure that I put in at least 13 extra kilometres through getting mildly lost once, and side trips to the grocery stores etc, so I will call it an even 800 km.
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furrows
We learned a lot – they say that a pilgrim learns what they need to learn, not what they expect to learn, and that the lessons may not be obvious until more time has gone past. I can honestly say that the walk was difficult in ways I could not have imagined.
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Meseta
One thing I did learn was that a seemingly impossible distance was accomplished one step at a time…I knew that in words, but not yet in my heart, or my feet!
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Village
At this moment in the world, when so much is confusing and upsetting, I have been thinking of that 800 km. The job I had to do on the Camino was to wake up, shoulder my backpack and walk to the next town… and then do it again the next day, and the next.
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Lighting a candle
The Virus has been going on for longer than it took me to walk the Camino, but some things are the same – we have to wake up in the morning, shoulder our burdens, and get to the end of the day, and the next, and the next…
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companions
…maybe in fact virus or no virus, we are all on this long walk together, and wherever we end up, there is beauty around us and it is good to have company along the way.
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Fisterra
Buen Camino to you and yours…keep walking forward!
Quimper Hittys 
One step at a time…is how we go through life. Some steps light, some painful, they all add up to one’s journey. We can accomplish so much…one little step at a time. Thank you for reminding me how small and simple are extraordinary! Constance makes her name shine…
Yes, Constance and I were reminded every day that small does not mean insignificant! We encountered many small acts of kindness too, and this was a small interlude in life’s longer journey… we have been so lucky!
Thanks for these thoughts today. I too have thought of various periods in time when folks had to shoulder burdens, walk out of the norm of usual daily life-like wars. Yes, one day at a time, step by step. Life definitely is a journey no matter what the times may hold.
And even on the same path, one doesn’t really know what burdens other pilgrims are carrying. I think that’s another thing we realized – to be appreciative of other people’s experiences.
Your post is exquisite- thank you for your wisdom, strength and gentle presence! Yes, each day is truly a pilgrimage and I am so grateful for the many blessings that unfold on the journey- even when some of what unfolds is challenging and mettle-testing! Your beautiful blog posts are jewels that light the path. Thank you thank you!
Thank you for your kind words, and your reminder of life’s blessings… I am so glad you were able to share this tiny bit of our journey – I am glad of the company!
A worthy tribute to a challenging, demanding, and life changing experience. Thanks so much for sharing.
You are welcome – it was a challenge, but very worth the effort!
Beautiful memories – Thank you Constance for sharing your experiences. Camino de Santiago is indeed a beautiful place to visit.
The Camino is unforgettable – the beauty and the journey are incorporated into our lives forever.
thank you for the window into an amazing journey and the wisdom found along the way.
I am so glad you were able to walk a little way with us – good friends make the journey better!
I’m in tears from reading this poignant metaphor you have composed and the comments from the dear Quimper followers, who I have gotten to cherish, in reading their take on life with hittys and just their lives in general. Thank you, all dear Hitty community.
I am amazed and grateful to all the visitors and people I’ve made friends with here – every one is a valued friend! Thank You – the journey would be less rich without you!
You have lightened all of our burdens with your wonderful posts. Buen Camino to you and yours dear friend.
I am so glad – Constance reminds me that even great journeys can be taken by taking one small step after another…I really like the company here – kind, thoughtful, and encouraging, excellent companions for such a journey! Thank You!
I repeat It. I hope someday have the opportunity to walk este Camino.
I hope so too! Buen Camino a ti!