Day two is almost in the bag. We hiked a little over 13 miles today. We wisely started out from Puente La Reina at the lovely cool hour of 4 am. The day had a steep uphill that we did in the dark which was nice because it didn’t seem as long. Overall, the day started out very steep and then became rolling.
Leading up to the steep climb we had 2 miles that were relatively level that we hiked in the dark. Honestly, it was probably my favorite part of the day. It was cool with a slight breeze. All around us, the crickets chirped, and the sounds of a stream babbled to our left in the dark. The best part was the stars! As we got away from the city and turned our lights off, we discover that we hiked under a sky with hundreds of stars. We saw shooting stars and the Milky Way. It was breathtaking and felt like it was just for us as the rest of the world slept. So beautiful!
As the day grew lighter, we watched the sun rise as we battled a hill. As we continued to hike, we passed several small towns that were all asleep, and we made friends with a baby donkey who followed us for a while.
Part of the Camino is processing things and learning new things. Today Rebekah and I talked through month two which was Thailand. In Thailand, I grappled with comparison, grace, and justice. There are a lot of people on the squad who connect with God really well, but I have a hard time with it and do it very different from the rest of the squad. Learning to come to grips with that and be OK with it was a lesson from Thailand.
The other things I learned that month were grace and justice. I wrote a blog about it but processing it after these many months gave me a clearer, and sometimes sharper, view of what was happening. We were making friends with and loving women in the red light district of Thailand. We were living with girls who have been sex trafficked and have some of the worst stories out there. There was a point that when we were there, it was just part of what our life looked like, but also you have to shut out some of the awfulness of what is happening. As I contemplated it the fullness of what we did began to hit, and I really needed to balance grace and justice at that moment. It was good to process with Rebekah who shared the experiences with me.
Now we sit in the city of Estelle, and I am processing a little more and waiting for the celebration tonight. It turns out Estelle celebrates their city the first Friday of August every year. We just happen to be here for it. Most locals dress in all white with red sashes around their waists. There will be food and dancing tonight. They launched the festivities at noon with fireworks and cannons! All the middle school and high school students (probably 700) have been making inner tube runs down the river that goes through town as four different types of marching bands roam the city. It’s pretty magical. And, YES! I got to watch the running of the bulls!
And that sums up my day two. Tomorrow looks like it will be a hard one but I am excited about it! My feet really hurt but, hey, that’s part of hiking!
Blessings until tomorrow!
Elise
