Life is a journey of the unexpected. The Camino is no different. What we want and what we need are often not the same. Sometimes one cannot parce those out on their own; it takes a team to help one determine what is necessary and what is not.
By the time we arrived in Logrono Sunday afternoon, Josef was carrying half my gear. There was little question that I damaged a ligament in my knee on the way to Pamplona and no arguing with Josef about carrying my own gear. He insisted and I had to let him. I'd grown hot and weary; the weather getting warmer each day. I was prepared for colder weather.
Decision time. We gathered together in the albergue; Josef, Ina, Gregor, and myself. Together we went through my things, one by one. What to keep, what to send home. I thought I'd done well with less than 20 pounds of gear, but on the Camino, it was getting to be too much. The Camino path is very hard, often paved, and is not at all forgiving. Gregor was the most insistent, "No, you only need two. You do not need that." He stated in his German accented English. Josef cut me a break on things and would override Gregor, stating something in German and Gregor would laugh, "Okay, Josef is being nice to you so he said you can keep that." I looked to Ina to verify everything before segregation. On and on we went until I had a full bag of clothing ready to send home. Two days of clothing and very few extras was all I had left. Also going home: every piece of electronic gear I brought except my iPhone. iPad, camera, iPod: all taking up space, all adding weight to my knees. As crazy as that sounds, the electronics were easy to give up. With limited access to wifi and charging stations, they were of little use anyway. The wifi signals in the albergue and cafes are often weak and though my iPhone works no problem, the iPad often doesn't detect the signal. Uploading pictures from my camera to my blog through Google was a nightmare given the weak connectivity so I had been relegated to shooting photos with my phone since the first day anyway.
On Monday morning we were joined by Lihi, a beautiful young woman from Isreal traveling the Camino solo. The six of us departed Lorongo together and on our way out of town, we stopped at the post office. Aleix insisted on carrying my bag of gear. "You are not in America. You don't have to be a tough girl. You are in Spain." He stated in his fantastic Spanish accent. So I let him carry my bag. Who could say no? Aleix interpreted for me at the post while Ina taped the box up tighter than Fort Knox. Since we used Aleix' address in Barcelona to ship the package, he hopes he'll have a new iPad waiting for him when he gets home from the Camino. (Sending things by post to the U.S. is a bit of a crap shoot.) 100 Euro and an hour later, we were on our way again. There were no words to describe the gratituded I felt for my Camino family in that moment. It was really something; all these pilgrims banned together in solidarity outside the post to help me unload seven pounds. They made it possible for me to drop the rock so I could continue on.
As we walked all day Monday for an impossibly long and hard 31 kilometers, I thought about how necessary it was to let go of certain things so I could move forward. As this proved true physically, I'm quite sure it is also true metaphorically. Letting go of ego is probably the hardest of all things to let go of. Self-reliance run riot is dangerous and thankfully I know when it is time to trust the wisdom and advice of others. Last night Lihi suggested to me a day of rest with her. Though we have only met, I feel she has a good energy; one of ease and relaxation, something I could use more of. I shared this idea with everyone else and they agreed a day of rest is a good idea.
We slept in this morning and had coffee quite late. Josef, Ina, Aleix, and Gregor set off after coffee while Lihi and I stayed behind. Today a day of rest for my knee. Lihi and I will take a bus to Santo Domingo and meet up with everyone later. If my knee is not better by Burgos, I will probably go to the hospital. But for today, rest, coffee, and time with Lihi.
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