The Ants go Marching

I’ve walked on a lot of crowded trails before but never one where everyone was headed in the same direction. We look like a bunch of ants marching purposefully towards the fated destination. Many paths all converging with anticipation of the end the journey.

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Today was a killer, having walked about 14 miles (34,000 steps on my Fit Bit)! The sun rises here quite late, around 8:15, so we started walking in the dark. At the end of the day, serious blisters presented themselves when I took the boots off my sausage-like feet. Luckily we are only 20 kms and 2 days away from Santiago. Although we had some drizzle today, it felt better to let the rain cool us off than to wear ponchos and raincoats.


Savanna asked me what items I was most glad I brought, what I could have left behind and what I wished I’d packed.
I was most glad about my trusty hiking poles and boots. I could have left behind my binoculars which are kind of heavy and I haven’t used them yet. I wish I’d brought a decent day pack instead of the little string bag (too small) and plastic pack (extremely sweaty).



Along the trail there was a Wisdom Wall, with many quips and quotes to ponder. One of my favorite ones was this:


This roughly translates to:
“Are there many realities or only one and we all look at it differently because we focus our attention on certain things and ignore the rest?”
 
One of the best things about traveling is meeting people from around the world and changing one’s perspective. We met a couple of young women from Ukraine and Madrid who were part of a group dedicated to promoting peace and connection among youth. We had lunch with the Ukrainian woman, who was so interesting. At the end of our 2 hours together she surprised us by saying a prayer for our intentions. Even in the midst of war and uncertainty, there are still those who focus on others with such compassion… 


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