Barcelos to Vitorino dos Piaes
Distance: 13 miles/ 22 km
Total: 238 miles
Notable memories
Today's hike
Today was a short hike because I wanted to get to this particular albergue. I noticed they have a community dinner in the description and I wanted to take part.
The hike itself had a lot of cobblestone and exposure to a lot of sunlight today. So I broke out the sun block. What a difference from Ireland.
The hike itself had a lot of cobblestone and exposure to a lot of sunlight today. So I broke out the sun block. What a difference from Ireland.
Camino Experience
As I sit in the yard the owner is preparing supper and it smells absolutely delicious. Being that I did not eat yesterday, for supper, and only had two beers, I am extremely hungry right now. Really looking forward to this dinner.
It is bedtime now and today at Casa da Fernando was everything that I've been looking for on this Camino.
I am so glad that I decided to stop here, rather than press on to what the designated stage was.
At dinner we had great conversation about the Camino and about life. I met so many interesting people from so many countries as you can see in the picture at the bottom.
If anything symbolizes learning and growth on the Camino, it is the ability to meet wonderful people from all over the world and share stories about our common experiences. We had smiles and laughs and tears at dinner, and it all was wonderful.
Something that often happens out here, is that fellow pilgrims begin to understand each other in a deep fundamental way because the trappings of life are stripped away and the responsibilities of life are removed and so in a sense of true personal nakedness, one can be open and honest here where one can't be back in the modern world.
Something that often happens out here, is that fellow pilgrims begin to understand each other in a deep fundamental way because the trappings of life are stripped away and the responsibilities of life are removed and so in a sense of true personal nakedness, one can be open and honest here where one can't be back in the modern world.
Groking One Another (Wikipedia)
Robert A. Heinlein originally coined the term grok in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land as a Martian word that could not be defined in Earthling terms, but can be associated with various literal meanings such as "water", "to drink", "life", or "to live", and had a much more profound figurative meaning that is hard for terrestrial culture to understand because of its assumption of a singular reality.
According to the book, drinking water is a central focus on Mars, where it is scarce. Martians use the merging of their bodies with water as a simple example or symbol of how two entities can combine to create a new reality greater than the sum of its parts. The water becomes part of the drinker, and the drinker part of the water. Both grok each other. Things that once had separate realities become entangled in the same experiences, goals, history, and purpose. Within the book, the statement of divine immanence verbalized between the main characters, "Thou Art God", is logically derived from the concept inherent in the term grok.
Today's pictures
Pretty chapel I came across today
Cathy and I crossed today's finish line, the albergue Casa da Fernanda
Community meal at albergue Casa da Fernanda. 3 Brazilians, 1 Portuguese, 1 German, 1 Canadian, 1 American and 1 Finn
No comments:
Post a Comment