A Moment of Truth — Do I or Don't I?

September 24

The night before the longest walk yet - 22 plus miles to Atapuerca - my body was invaded with the most inopportune flu symptoms. My first line of defense was to visit Bill's traveling pharmacy.  Despite his wide array of medicine, I was not able to overcome my nausea by morning.  I had quite a dilemma on my hands. I had promised myself long ago that I would walk every mile of the Camino absent some life threatening event. Now was my moment of truth - do I walk or don't I? I had no idea how I could walk even 2 miles in my condition but I knew I at least had to try. Bill, the trouper that he is, agreed to stay the course with me.

I don't recall much of the day other than some of the daunting uphills, my frequent detours into the woods, and stops to "regroup" as I would call them. Bill shared "nursing" duties with Mary and Lisa, two fellow peregrinos we had enjoyed walking with, who could not have been kinder. It was a delicate balance between distracting me with stories and leaving me alone to deal with the situation as best I could.

We finally arrived in Atapuerca about 8 hours later and I was never so happy to stumble into my small second-floor room for the night.  Before too long, there was a knock on the door as Bill and Lisa brought me a steaming bowl of white rice and vegetable soup.  Quite frankly, I don't know how I managed to walk these 22 plus miles but I have a strong suspicion that the power of the Camino, along with the incredible support of Bill, Mary and Lisa, had a lot to do with it.  Tomorrow will no doubt be a better walking day . . .

                                                              ~ Buen Camino, Carol ~