Hola, Friends, family
(Nick: “Hi mom/family!”) and fellow readers from Taylor!
Just adding on to what John said, today we began in Astorga and bussed having several close calls to dogs, bikers, and cars that were driving on streets made for one car (how we haven’t taken out the side mirrors on any of these side streets is beyond me and a testament to how amazing bus drivers in Spain are). Today for me and many Peregrinos was the most emotionally and physically taxing today. First we stopped in Monlinaseca to look at another lovely arch bridge and Ponferrada which had a pretty awesome castle. We went to Cruz de Ferro where pilgrims leave a stone, representing the physical embodiment of a burden. Since we have done our day of silence I have been thinking a lot about burdens and how having a mental reminder can be just as heavy as a physical one. It was very moving to see the Cross built on a mound of stones that pilgrims from all around the world had left. Some had left pictures of loved ones lost, stones written with helpful proverbs, encouraging words and flags. The physical act of removing the stone from my pack and needing to place it on the cross made me think a lot about what we hold onto and why. Like many people I get stuck on my own issues and forget that sometimes what we need is to let go. Obviously it is not as simple as plopping a stone a cross and there goes your problem. By acknowledging what I had been through I felt lighter and more able bodied. And even though I did not know what my fellow pilgrims had been through I felt bounded by our own burdens. After this emotionally taxing experience we then had to climb O Cebreiro, which can be summed up into two steps. Step 1. Buy a hat, step 2. Hold the heck on. It was only 8 km but it was by the far the hardest day for me. It was a blistering day, with few clouds and no breeze. Being a Minnesota girl I am more adapt to dealing with blistering cold and not blistering heat. We were told by Tony that the first 2k would be the worst; I would argue that it was preceded by the equally terrible slight incline 6k. Many of us stopped about 2k up and stepped off the path to look at the beautiful overhang. We took several beautiful scenery photos with some very sweaty people in them. The vending machine that was at the top of the mountain was like an oasis in the middle of the desert, you do not know true love until you have had Fanta Limón after climbing a mountain (equal to having a cold cerveza in O Cebreiro). After taking a lovely break with Alex, Charlotte, and Pat we were off only to stop because Pat had forgot his staff at the bar. We all eventually made it (us being the back group) we explored the town of O Cebreiro which has a lot of Celtic influence as seen through its architecture and culture. However all is well in Spain, we did get hailed on while running into our Albergue. But! The room Charlotte and I are in looks like the Shire from Lord of the Rings. Wishing much love to everyone state side and whomever else is reading this!
Hasta Pronto!
Taylor
Just adding on to what John said, today we began in Astorga and bussed having several close calls to dogs, bikers, and cars that were driving on streets made for one car (how we haven’t taken out the side mirrors on any of these side streets is beyond me and a testament to how amazing bus drivers in Spain are). Today for me and many Peregrinos was the most emotionally and physically taxing today. First we stopped in Monlinaseca to look at another lovely arch bridge and Ponferrada which had a pretty awesome castle. We went to Cruz de Ferro where pilgrims leave a stone, representing the physical embodiment of a burden. Since we have done our day of silence I have been thinking a lot about burdens and how having a mental reminder can be just as heavy as a physical one. It was very moving to see the Cross built on a mound of stones that pilgrims from all around the world had left. Some had left pictures of loved ones lost, stones written with helpful proverbs, encouraging words and flags. The physical act of removing the stone from my pack and needing to place it on the cross made me think a lot about what we hold onto and why. Like many people I get stuck on my own issues and forget that sometimes what we need is to let go. Obviously it is not as simple as plopping a stone a cross and there goes your problem. By acknowledging what I had been through I felt lighter and more able bodied. And even though I did not know what my fellow pilgrims had been through I felt bounded by our own burdens. After this emotionally taxing experience we then had to climb O Cebreiro, which can be summed up into two steps. Step 1. Buy a hat, step 2. Hold the heck on. It was only 8 km but it was by the far the hardest day for me. It was a blistering day, with few clouds and no breeze. Being a Minnesota girl I am more adapt to dealing with blistering cold and not blistering heat. We were told by Tony that the first 2k would be the worst; I would argue that it was preceded by the equally terrible slight incline 6k. Many of us stopped about 2k up and stepped off the path to look at the beautiful overhang. We took several beautiful scenery photos with some very sweaty people in them. The vending machine that was at the top of the mountain was like an oasis in the middle of the desert, you do not know true love until you have had Fanta Limón after climbing a mountain (equal to having a cold cerveza in O Cebreiro). After taking a lovely break with Alex, Charlotte, and Pat we were off only to stop because Pat had forgot his staff at the bar. We all eventually made it (us being the back group) we explored the town of O Cebreiro which has a lot of Celtic influence as seen through its architecture and culture. However all is well in Spain, we did get hailed on while running into our Albergue. But! The room Charlotte and I are in looks like the Shire from Lord of the Rings. Wishing much love to everyone state side and whomever else is reading this!
Hasta Pronto!
Taylor
Muchas Gracias!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. You made me cry! God speed to your group.
ReplyDeleteNancy Brook
(Josh's mom)