Day three on the Camino was marked by a special event: Hannah’s 23rd birthday! Hannah has been my team lead for seven months! She has been my friend for longer than that, though. Hannah is a deep, God loving, Christ follower who brings a lot of joy to my life! She does some amazing art, so check her out!
To celebrate her birthday a few people and I hiked with her today! We started off early – around 4 am. As I waited on them, I sat outside watching the festivities that still carried on from last night’s running of the bulls. As I sat there in the streetlight lit road, I all of a sudden see Hannah come a round the corner with a huge dolphin balloon attached to her backpack! I found out later that he was a present from someone and she had named him Spot. It was the funniest thing watching him bob along behind her.
Today’s hike was a hard one mentally. At this point, our bodies have figured out the whole hiking everyday thing and don’t hurt as bad, but our minds are still adjusting. So in one sense, it was an easy hike, but grueling in another as we went up a mountain in the dark then crested a hill.
Cresting this hill was a high point though, literally and figuratively! Yes, we were at the highest point of the day but also the sun was rising at this point! So much beauty! The rays of the sun peeked through the clouds and lit up the sky! We stood there for a long time and just watched.
The rest of the day we hiked through large grain fields over rolling hills. As we hiked, I talked to other hikers but also listened to a pod cast by one of my favorite YouTubers, Destin Sandler. Called What Is The Fifty-Fifty, it made me think a lot about feedback, how people communicate, and electronics. It was really good. Click here to take a listen!
Once in the city, we found our way to a hostel and have been hanging out since then with other people we have seen over the past couple of days! It’s been cool to continue to connect with people over the days.
Tomorrow looks like it will be a full day but also a good one. We will be hiking about 16 miles which will be a lot, but I think it should be doable. We are praying we meet more people along the way and get to hike and talk to them. I can’t wait to tell you about it when it happens.
Blessings From Day Three,
Elise
