Melting into the Moments

Two days have passed since I entered something into this jounery log. We are still travelling togather, the 4 Canadians and yesterday we picked up Kirsten again, the Danish woman I had met some days earlier, so now we are 4. the French Canadian is very witty and we call her our poet philosopher, Everything she has, has been wieghed carefully, and so she carries 20 gms of poetry amongst other items. She threatens to place her extra weight into our bags while we sleep at night as the maseus yesterday told her to take out 2 kgs. We laugh all the time about what we can get rid of and even the hair conditioner and dental floss counts for something. We only buy food that we will eat for the day and nothing extra so we are getting smarter about the bulk and the wieght as it really makes a difference as the day goes.
The past two days have been easier. less climbing although nothing is flat here in Spain only hilly by degrees, with some quite steep. We have arrived at the auberg by 12 = 1 pm these past 2 days and have enjoyed the afternoon siesta time and the rest on our aching feet and legs.
Today marks 156 kms for the journey and we are about 20% complete. I would never have imagined that I could walk this far with such consistency when I left Canada. I am feeling fine and have learned that it is vital to drink and to stop to rest and to keep eating (yes Mom I eat well). We notice the wieght loss now and although not significant, my clothes are loose (good eh!) but what a way to lose weight!!
I am melting into the moments as my friend Cathy has suggested and find that the walking = one step at a time = is very contemplative. I have experienced some interesting insights about how simple life really is and how we complicate it with our human issues of letting the mind over rule the real substance of what is really important. So much of what I have focused on is material and in the end will not be how my life makes a difference for the world or even for my onw happiness.
I am getting tired each day just from the constant effort to walk. this comes and goes however, and there are moments of extreme happiness as well and a feeling of being fulfilled in simple ways. There are beautiful surprises around each corner and everything is unexpected as even the map cannot tell us what really lies ahead.
We are walking through the vineyards of Rioja now and today passed olive groves and apple orchards as well. The smell, the color and the full beauty of the morning sky is something to behold. The camraderie along the way is precious as each of us takes time to greet and wish each other well as we pass and re pass each other. There are great times of conversation over the vino tinto and fabulous meals, once the manu has been tranalated with the very patient waiters in the bars and restaurants.
Wherever there is a maseus, we take advantage of the treatment as the only splurge in an otherwise very cheap adventure. Each night costs at most 6 E and last night it was 4E with the most cost being the pilgrims meal each day at 9 or 10 E which is worth while as it always includes a few bottles of wine.
So what am I getting from this so far. Well one thing is that there is a lot to be learned from simplicity and that I do not need as much in my life as far a material things than I have been accustomed to. This does not mean that I will give it all up when I return home, but will certainly think about this in future. The other thing is that there is such a big world to explore and that each person I meet along the way is ready and open to being in communication even in a simple way so that conversation with so many people, even those that cannot share the same language is wonderfully warm and friendly. There is an Italian couple who we have been seeing for the past 4 days, since Pamplona, and we can only greet them as they have now taught us how = so when we see them it is like old friends even though I have no idea what they are saying in words, the non verbal works wonderfully.
We are now a group the 5 of us and will travel together for awhile and until we need to change pace or something else. It is good to have companions and good to have time alone to contemplate as well and it all works out.
Spain is a wonderful place and I cherish the opportuniy to be able to see so much of this simple rural life in these ancient places. So much history is evidnet all around us all the time. People continue to be warm and friendly and we are well taken care of in these beautiful refugios.
Buen Camino........... Maggee