Day 11: Maneru - Estella (4/11/14)

This might be a good spot to say how amazed I am at the human body.

It can be pushed beyond its 'normal' limits

and do whatever magic it does overnight -

to not only restore itself 

but be ready to take on whatever it has to 

the next morning.

As someone who has not taken good of her physical self for, sad to say, years

this was a huge revelation!

It also was a huge shock to my body that the new 'norm' 

was now apparently walking for 7+ hours a day and NOT sitting behind a desk at a computer!

Since I had really pushed the day before, 

I decided that the next day would be easier - and shorter. 

The weather was delightful when overcast,

but when the sun came out from behind a cloud, it was scorching -

and my sunburn was still throbbing.

As I walked, 

once again, 

I was overwhelmed by the beauty to be found in Northern Spain-

both natural and created.

 (Can you see why sometimes it's easy to miss the signs?)

Much of that day was spent on old Roman roads -

roads on which people have trod for over 2000 years!

I can barely even wrap my head around how many pilgrims have walked over these exact same stones!

 As picturesque and thought provoking as they were, they were killers on your feet.

I can't even imagine how they must have felt on Roman feet,
clad only in thin sandals!

I ate lunch in the shade provided by an old monastery -
San Miguel.

and while I did, I thought of the ruins of the other church I passed earlier.

I couldn't help but think of all the people (ordained and lay) who had worshipped, supported and sustained both these congregations for decades, maybe centuries.

Now, all the individual parishioners had long since passed beyond memory- 

with absolutely nothing that endured to speak to who they were, what they did or what they believed.

As I watched a steady parade of pilgrims pass by, 

most not even giving the church a passing glance,

I wondered why we were all on this crazy pilgrimage.

I realized then that what did endure,

what seemed to be timeless,

 was the seeking - 

people searching for the divine, 

for something larger than themselves, 

all of us looking for the 'something' that exists and lasts 

beyond any monument or shrine built to honor it. 

I might not have walked many kilometers that day,

but my thoughts travelled very far!