“And on the seventh day God rested, evening and morning of the seventh day.”  It is my seventh day and I am resting.  Good enough for God: good enough for me!  I have walked 137 km in 6 days, not quite the pace I was hoping for, but good enough.  It’s the hills that slow me down; some are so steep that I am reduced to a crawl.

I am presently happily ensconced in the Jesuit community in Logroño where I have a room to myself (ah, the simple pleasures) and a chance to let the muscles ease.  I slept more last night that in all the previous nights combined – no snoring to keep me awake.

The first day was by far the hardest.  After days of relentless heavy rains, the path was a sodden mess of mud that was sometimes ankle-deep.  And the otherwise tranquil streams had turned into raging rivers.  I fell into one of those, up to my waist.  As a result I lost the use of my cell phone and, later as a delayed result, the use of my tablet. These were things I had counted on to help me stay connected along the way, and now they are gone.  So I am entirely dependent on the availability of pay-per-use internet services that are available, happily, in most of the albergues.

What has all this taught me? Oh, where to begin?  I don’t need much to get along.  Yesterday I mailed back to Canada 2.65 kg of stuff that I have discovered is unnecessary.  That will ease my burdens at least a little and make the walking less stressful on the joints.  Life becomes much simpler when you carry everything you need on your back.  You don’t want much, and you find that you don’t need much.  The burdens that we impose on ourselves in ordinary life, the things that seem so important to us, become frivolous extras that are better left behind.  That gives a lot of freedom.

“The Lord is my strength; I trust in him.”  The Italian version of this psalm arose spontaneously in me the second day of the journey and has stayed with me all the way. I am a big guy, and physically pretty strong.  But my strength fails after a while and I am left with no other recourse but to count on God´s strength to get by.  And so I sing this psalm in Italian, at times accompanying the singing with sobs of gratitude.

God’s love is always there. In so many ways, through so many people, whom I call Angels of Mercy, God has shown me his love. I am humbly aware of how generous that love is and how simply it is expressed. It has become so important to me that I don’t think I will ever again be able to take it for granted. 

And so, tomorrow I will continue with a walk of about 28 km. Please continue to pray for me.  Knowing I have the support of so many people has made the way easier.  Know that I carry you in my heart all along the way.