Today I walked. Today I walked a lot (19+ miles - over 41,000 steps). The predawn was cool. After sunrise it got hot. As the day wore on, it got hotter. In the last 3 days on the Camino I walked with one of the Aussie couples for about 20 minutes. Beyond that I saw maybe 3 other Pilgrims as little figures miles ahead. Yes, you often can see the Camino stretch on for miles before you. I hope some of that comes through in the pictures. So, 3 days and many miles alone and I welcome it- what I expected, what I knew would challenge me, what spurred me into deep reflection of who I am and who I should be. Yes, there’s room for improvement, lots of room. With just the Camino and without material things that tend to blind me from what’s important, like stereos , TV, the remote, computers, apps, apps and more apps and all those things of daily life that bombard us, I can open myself to things more spiritual, and dare I say more valuable. When I speak of spirituality, I do not mean a bunch of angles coming down on high blowing trumpets announcing the coming of Christ (though I wouldn’t mind being on the receiving end of such an event). What I mean is I try to focus on the human spirit and soul, not only in me but also in others. For me, human interaction is an opportunity to feed one’s soul and spirit in a way you can’t get from the material (well, perhaps AI might perfect that as well- if so, boy are we in trouble). A simple thought occurred to me in my solitude. When I get back home and I feel like gaming on Diablo Immortal or cribbage, or Sudoko…. which could consume me for a long time, I will call or visit someone instead. I want to focus more on human interaction- many good things can come to me if I do. After the solitude on the Camino, more than 10 of the Pilgrims I have been sharing time with all came together in Merida’s main plaza. Mike, the Brit who has commented on the blog, is heading home on a bus tonight and a bunch of us saw him off. It was his scheduled finish. He will return to finish it another day. So, solitude on the Camino and community at day’s end, a fine balance.

Industry is prominent on the VDLP

A McPilgrim Happy Meal maybe

Ancient Roman viaduct creating an entrance into Merida