Star Gazing

Day 2 – Monday, October 16: Zubiri to La Trinidad de Arre – 17 km, 9 hours

Good morning, evening, middle of the night wherever you are. It’s 4 am here in Zubiri…still jet lagged and the town bell goes off on the hour and half hour…and 5 minutes after the hour sometimes lol.

Walked 15 km today through expansive and stunning Basque country.  Much of the walk was along a river. We were accompanied by a curious and playful border collie puppy which led us for at least an hour and a half. For a while I was worried that he was getting to far from home and at one point thought maybe it was going home. When we came to the next village sure enough his owner was like, where the heck have you been!

The terrain changed from a river walk and we began to climb and climb – the equivalent of 30 stories according to an app on Adrienne’s phone. We came upon old stone farmhouses and huge ploughed fields with sweeping views of the valley below.

We arrived at Arre, our destination and stayed at a 12th century hospice with a beautiful courtyard where Adrienne journaled and I did some yoga while we waited for our laundry to dry.

My sinuses were bothering me and thinking that the dust of the place was the cause, I decided to sleep outside and it was gorgeous.

I woke up several times over the course of the night – there is movement going on as the Earth spins through her cycle! Each time I looked up to the starry sky the Milky Way and Orion were staring down at me from a different position.

Take-aways from the day include lessons from a puppy about being playful, curious and present. A discussion about the difference between hope and faith was thought provoking. I realized that I needed carry more water, as the potable fountains weren’t as abundant as I had thought. And when called upon, our bodies can do more than we think they can.

And I will take a moment to express some post walk appreciation for a hot shower, yoga and Gardener’s Dream Cream.

I am blessed.