Day 23, May 18, Part 2, more rest in Muxia

Day 23, part 2. Wednesday,  May 18, another day of zero miles. 

Continued from part 1. 

In the late but still sunny afternoon, after writing most of this post, we walked very slowly (Chris says "I don't have to walk this slowly but my foot really likes it." ) to a small beach just beyond town.  We strolled on the sand, collected a few tiny shells for sister Judy's shell garden, and sat a long while on the beach just watching the gentle waves arrive, lap the shore, and depart; the seagulls ride the wind; a sailboat anchored nearby slowly turn on the wind. 

Photo 8 shows River at ease on the beach, photo 9 shows the beach she is gazing toward, photo 10 shows the boat. (By the way, on her walk earlier River met a couple who seemed to be struggling with heavy packs. She congratulated them on completing their Camino. They laughed and said they just came off the boat. On second look the heavy packs were of garbage bags they must have brought to shore to discard! It seemed to her that arrival by sailboat on that rocky coast known as the Costa de Morte, coast of death, because of its many fatal shipwrecks deserved more congratulations than walking the tame Camino. )

 

 

 

 

We thought about how the Camino occupies the part of ourselves that needs to be constantly "doing" with walking, allowing the rest of us to simply be in the moment. But here we seemed content with simple being, no doing needed at all. 

We also reflected on our Camino and how it differed from our first Camino in 2012. The first, we agreed, was like a honeymoon: we fell naturally and easily and head over heels in love with the Way and the other wayfarers. Day after day of pure bliss. (Yes, we had our wounds and injuries, but that did not change the overall mood. ). This year's Camino was more like domestic love, the willingness to accept and endure the difficulties and limitations of the Camino and other pilgrims (including one another) for the sake of love, with small moments of bliss all the more precious because they are rare. We both felt content with both Caminos and very grateful we had chosen to and were able to walk them both.  As a walk of gratitude and celebration of Chris' 85 years (and so also of course of our  35 years of knowing each other),this Camino seemed just perfect.