Savoring the Journey
Where to even begin? We completed our 4 day mini-Camino yesterday and I am still basking in the glow of it all - the highs, lows, laughter, tears and even a nationwide power outage! I pondered trying to write updates as we went, but decided to just sink deep into the moment and savor every step of the journey.
This morning the rest of the retreatants headed home and I headed back to Flores to let it all percolate. I have spent most of today reflecting, walking, journaling, and napping on the comfortable futon in the beautiful chapel where we gathered for so many of our sessions. It has been a day of silence and stillness and restoration and that has felt simply divine!
Tomorrow Basia and I will reflect together on this year’s retreat (What seemed to resonate well with folks? What might we want to tweak a bit?)… and dream about where the Spirit may be nudging for next year’s retreat (Yes, we are offering this retreat again next spring if you feel nudged to join us!). One of the greatest gifts of this entire journey has been the blessing of preparing and leading with Basia. Her wisdom, grace, gentleness, guidance, calm, and experience have been like a sacred balm for my weary soul.
I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our mutual friend, Ruth, who connected us in the first place. Ever since that first Zoom call 9 months ago, the Spirit has been swirling, dancing, and bringing so many amazing opportunities to life. What a gift…. what a truly indescribable sacred gift.
Here are a few of my favorite pics from the four days of our sacred pilgrimage on the Camino and in the Valley of Silence. I will write more in depth about each day, but for now, here are some teasers to whet your appetite! :-)
Day One (April 28) - We began our Camino adventure with a simple pilgrim’s blessing in front of Flores - “We join together in this circle of communitas in support of everyone’s pilgrimage.” Everyone’s pilgrimage is uniquely sacred as we “walk alone together” along the Way. On this first day I very slowly walked 9 miles to Rabanal where we learned of the nationwide power outage in Spain. We enjoyed a lovely candlelight dinner and pondered how our pilgrimages may be quite different than we had anticipated. But isn’t that actually what a pilgrimage is - releasing the perception of control and allowing the path to unfold in unexpected ways before us?
Day Two (April 29) - Power was miraculously restored overnight and we were able to proceed with our pilgrimgage. I enjoyed a beautiful day of slow and steady walking with my beloved companions Marie and Camisha. I was able to walk the first 6 miles up to the Iron Cross, but the last 5 miles was a steep downhill decent and I opted to give my weary foot a rest and get a ride to our overnight stay in the wonderful little village of El Acebo.
Day 3 (April 30) - This morning’s walk was “only” 5 miles but it was a steep downhill decent of 2,000 feet. I wasn’t sure how my foot was going to hold out, but I walked slowly and steadily and miraculously made it to our destination of Molinaseca along the Rio Meruelo - a refreshing gift to my weary feet! In the afternoon we drove to the breathtaking Valley of Silence for what would be our final day of retreat together.
Day 4 (May 1) - We spent our final day of retreat together in the spectacularly beautiful and incredibly quaint llitle town of Penalba de Santiago in the Valley of Silence. Several folks from our group hiked to a cave inhabited by the hermit St. Genadio (in the 10th Century!) at the heart of this incredible valley. I decided my feet had done enough by this point and opted to support the pilgrims through prayer while watching the sunshine gradually light up the mountains around us. What an incredible way to wrap up our sacred journey together!