final tally

after 30 days on the road and nearly 1000 km under my belt, i can honestly say i´ve seen some wonderful things and met some truly outstanding people. yet again, the camino has distinguished itself as a unique way to take a time-out and think about what is important in my life. no way can you listen to some of your fellow pilgrims´stories without feeling compassion and humility, never mind a whole lot of luck as well.

put in a whack of kilometres under a blazing sun so was very happy to reward myself with a yummy paella and a few beers in pamplona´s buzzing plaza. as i revelled in all the architecture and imagined it morphing over the centuries, i performed a little mental review, picking out those moments that stuck out as my faves. it wasn´t long before i realized that while the landscapes were gorgeous, my highest highs almost unanymously consisted of people interaction. sometimes with strangers, other times with new friends. again, a reality check that connections are what matter most to me.

instantly popping to mind among my faves were the roll-on-the-floor laugh fest with sebastien and christian, dinner with the three french women who had each lost a son, the crossing from france into spain over the mountains, bidding adieu to friends in roncesvalles and feeling momentarily sad only to hear patrick call my name, arranging patrick´s name in pebbles on a medieval bridge knowing he would discover it...so many warm memories.

but enough with the philosophizing...barcie awaits - the town that never sleeps. who knows what kind of trouble i´ll sniff out there?!