Today’s walk was long and flat and grim, following the senda, or pilgrim’s walkway, along the highway from town to town.
None of us got a good night’s sleep the night before, and exhaustion combined with hunger created the perfect storm. The middle of today’s walk had us grumbling, once more, about quitting in León. Are we selfish to have the kids out here? We had accidentally packed Eloise’s chest carrier, and the path was too bumpy for her to ride in the stroller, so we took turns carrying her in our arms. She was the happiest of all of us, but even so we wondered if we were being fair to her.
We stopped for lunch, tired and grumpy, but Sandra pushed us to walk the final 5 kilometers to our stay in Carrion de los Condes, and we felt proud of our achievement and optimistic after reaching our goal.
I don’t want us to go home on a bad day. I think we would forever look back on this trip as being a mistake, having bitten off more than we could chew, when, in reality, this trip has had so many beautiful moments. They’ve just been hard earned. Some days, really hard earned.
We enjoyed our evening in Carrion de los Condes. We rested for a while, explored town for awhile, and had a great dinner out where we saw familiar faces and enjoyed some conversation with new friends. Addie introduced herself to people at the table with confidence, and it reaffirmed for us that this camino was not a mistake for our children. I think we won’t see the true impact or benefits until we are done and home. In the moment, it is hard to see past the pleas for more screentime or sugar without wondering if we are creating more bad habits than good.
Carrion de los Condes is not quite the center of the Camino, but it is pretty close. We are 405 kilometers away from Santiago, and we are 3 weeks into our 6 week journey. As we get closer to Santiago, I know we will all start feeling more confident and determined again.
Tomorrow, we bus to León, and I am excited for a chance to spend a day there exploring. León was my favourite city on my last camino. Then, from there, we will be done with barren desert stretches, so hopefully we will find more food and services, but the trail will once again become more difficult.
You are so amazing for all you are doing. Your feet have carried you through so many experiences on the Camino. Perhaps time in Leon will help to clarify your next steps (literally 😀). One of my favorite quotes is by Eleanor Roosevelt:
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…..you must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
Miss you❤Hugs🫂
May you have a lovely day in Leon. Only you guys know the real trials and joys of this trip and you will decide what is best for you, just take your time whatever you decide. There is no right or wrong, as it is said repeatedly on the camino posts from hundreds of people, you must do what is working for you. So proud of you four!
Dear, dear Jenn,
You and your family are having a wonderful adventure. Yes, there are tough challenges but that is part of the experience for most pilgrims, I bet.
I lot of chanting is about, ( my Camino, my Camino) . It is a great time to be introspective and have your heart, soul, and mind uplifted but you know this because you did it once before.
This time you are giving a gift to your family to get a taste of this unique adventure. It will be wonderful for you to go down memory lane with them over the years, as “ Our Camino”.
I love your photos, I feel like I am walking it again. Hugs to you all!
So true. I remember having some really low days when I walked solo. Different challenges this time, but without thr challenge it wouldn’t be as rewarding. We hope it is demonstrating grit and determination to our toddler.