47,000 wet, muddy steps trekking through mountains and valleys across Spain in a sometimes violent rainstorm. Everything was wet today, nothing was spared. Yet, with pilgrims walking more carefully and slowly, conversations flourished. Some favorite insights shared today:
- “Use all of your best judgments”
- “Your life is not about you; be humble”
- “Move from self-focus to others-focus”
The Camino offers no shelter from the elements during daylight hours—albergues close their doors from 10 am until 3 pm with precision. Face the rain or idle away five hours in a café sipping coffee. Without exception, pilgrims choose the former. They shoulder their packs and continue forward, one step after another, complaints dissolving in the rain like footprints in mud. In two years walking these ancient paths, I’ve never heard a single pilgrim lament their journey. The rain, like suffering itself, simply becomes part of the pilgrimage.
This William Faulkner quote seems Camino appropriate “Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain.”
Camino Gratitude Portugal 
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