Day 35 - Airexe, 12.5 miles

The mist shrouded everything for the first couple of hours this morning, giving everything an otherworldly mystery.

The climb up through the woods (seems like that’s the way I spend most mornings😄) was quiet and solitary… There are more pilgrims on the trail for this last piece, but I still seem to find plenty of solo time. 

A miracle happened at some point, my ankle pretty much stopped hurting.  It gave me so much energy to not be walking in pain.

Today it really hit me that I only have a few more days, so I did my best to clear my mind and be really present with the experience… 

Interesting though, I ran into a woman at my Pension tonight who I  started with in St Jean… We discussed how the energy for this last part is very different, in part because of all the Camino Lites -that’s what they call themselves (a bus drops a group of tourists off, they walk a couple of miles, have lunch and get picked up again) so they are  on vacation… A wonderful vacation, but for us diehards, we are hoping for a deeper experience…

Honestly, I just tune them out and let them get ahead of me.  For those of us that started a month or more ago, we are on the home stretch, and I know that has changed things for me… For starters, I’m over the communal living arrangements…was fun, part of the experience, a great way to socialize with others… But for this last part I feel more internal, and want my own room to be with that.  

I have met so many people now though, and I seem to run into, or meet someone new every night, so I may have to wait until I get home to really have the space to process this…I have to beg off socializing everyday for an hour or so to do my blog…it’s a great excuse 😄

The sun came out by 11, making the rest of the walk on the hot side.