Don’t give up - Ages, Spain - September 19

This Camino has been nothing like I thought it would be. I have been battling myself these past few days and as of yesterday was ready to quit. I am simply not enjoying the walk. I am not having the magical experiences I was expecting and everything just seems like a total slog.

I knew this would be hard but I didn’t think it would be THIS hard.

Today marks four months since Mom died. I spent the morning writing to her and asking for advice. I don’t think she wants me to give up. I think she wants me to prove to myself that I can do hard things. I think she wants me to find beauty and magic where I think there is none. I made a commitment to Rich and Olga to try my hardest to make it to Santiago.

I am working on a plan to make the walking more enjoyable. First, I need to get my feet sorted out. These boots are not working for me. Tomorrow we get to Burgos, which is a bigger city so I am hoping I can find the right shoes. I’m also going to select which sections of each day’s hike I can reasonably do. This will take some of the pressure off of me to walk at an uncomfortable pace. On days when I just can’t walk I will allow myself to rest and enjoy my surroundings.

Rich and Olga are walking 17 miles today. Looking forward to greeting them when they get into this very small town.