May 20, 2015

Today I left Logrono at 7:45 to try to get ahead of the rain.  Not a pretty day at all weather wise.  Temperatures were in the 50s all day and the sun peaked through the clouds for only a few minutes.  The winds were brisk which seems to exhaust me more that anything.  The path started out going around a lake but there was a great deal of local activity – runners and the like – so it was not peaceful even though I was walking by myself.  Then the path was near a highway for the next 10 miles except for a little town or two.  And then it rained for the last hour or two. All in all, not nearly as nice as the previous days.  Hardly perfect.

Then I passed a vineyard and couldn’t help but notice how the soil was more rocks than dirt and the rocks were baseball or softball size and the dirt reminded me of Georgia clay.  I always imagine that perfect soil for growing grapes is dark and really holds moisture well, like the stuff you buy in bags at the garden store.  Well these vines seemed to think that the soil and rocks they were in were perfect because the vines sure look hardy.

So maybe my day was perfect – just my vision of “perfect” was imperfect.  Going a little deeper, maybe our friends, our closest relationships are perfect too, just our expectations are imperfect.

You do get some time to think while walking the Camino under gray skys, in cool winds and with some rain.

Buen Camino and keep me in your prayers.  You are certainly in mine.