Humilidad y Amor.

¡Hola, todos! It's my first night hearing thunder here in Spain, and I couldn't be more thankful. We just finished a dry, hot 10 days in the meseta (the part of the camino that, especially during July, is basically a desert) by climbing into the mountains. We had a tough walking day today as we reached the highest point on the Camino - 1500 meters - but the change in weather and scenery were a blessing. The last couple of weeks have been some of the most challenging of my life in many ways, which has provided plenty of opportunities to push myself outside my comfort zone and start learning the true meaning of 'love for self and others.'

It is a Camino tradition to carry a stone from your starting point to the Cruz de Ferro at the highest point on El Camino.
I decided to leave behind a bandana and some reflections on my trip as well.

My Camino family continues to grow in strength and number. Our group from the first few days is still going strong, and I feel like we have developed a bond that will last long after we reach Santiago. Each of us has sacrificed something - whether it be changing a train ticket, pushing an extra 5 kilometers to the next town despite being exhausted, or letting go of our own schedule - to stick together. This is not something I was expecting to encounter on my journey, but it has been a greater blessing than I can express. Who knew that a Teach For America volunteer, an anthropology/environmental sciences major studying abroad in Madrid, a modern-day female Chuck Norris-turned-counselor, an electronic media major who knows the lyrics to nearly every song ever written, and a doctor-wannabe would click in such a profound way. And beyond this, our extended Camino family continues to grow as well; we have met some incredible people that we tend to run into every day or two. This includes everyone from Roxanne, an incredibly funny and passionate English professor from California; to Alex, a French business student with a great sense of humor; to Brett, a soon-to-be-seminarian who has decided to join us for the rest of the trip. I believe our arrival and time spent in Santiago may be the largest and most emotional family reunion I have ever been to (which is saying a lot considering my dad has six brothers and sisters).

A fairly-recent family picture--- night out in León!

Model pilgrims.

It is hard to distill down all of the stories from the past two weeks into something that is short enough for me to type (and for you to read without falling asleep). So, aside from pictures, I have got one story that more or less sums up my journey so far. Here goes….

We were in the middle of the meseta (so be thinking VERY hot and dry, no shade, etc) making about a 30-kilometer trek for the day. The first few hours were great, and then as late morning arrived we came to one of our biggest obstacles of the journey so far-- 17 kilometers (around 12 miles) of a long, straight road with no shade or towns (which also meant no water sources) the entire way. We stocked up on food and water in the small town beforehand and got on our way.

This is a gross understatement of how we felt during a couple days on the meseta...but it's the best I can do.

Shortly after beginning the walk, I started to feel some tightness in my right hip. At first, I didn't think anything of it. As the tightness started to turn to pain, I took off my pack for a few minutes and stretched. This helped for a short time, but before long the pain returned and started to feel like more of a throb. Before I knew what had happened, I was limping along, with around 8 miles left to walk. I have never felt more defeated or frustrated. In my mind, I was expecting to have no problems with the Camino after having just trained for and run a marathon, and now I was the weakest link. My pace slowed, and I told my group to keep moving ahead at their own pace. Tim offered to stay behind and walk with me, and he ended up being my sanity that day. Our deep conversations slowly turned to grunts as we became exhausted, and I could not have made it to the next town without him sharing most of his water with me. By the time I arrived at the cafe in the next town, I felt absolutely terrible. 

Then, a beautiful thing happened. I have always had trouble accepting the generosity of others, especially when I have nothing to give them in return. But in this moment I was so weak, so beyond humbled, that for one of the first times in my life I was able to graciously accept the love and charitability of others. Tim switched to walking in sandals and gave his shoe insoles (which had much more support than mine) to me. Mark gave me vaseline for my feet to help with the blisters. Becca gave me some topical ibuprofen creme (we have got to get this in the States!) and her walking stick. Jessica insisted that I give her the heaviest things from my pack. And Roxanne bought me what may have been the best-tasting beer of my life. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity of my new friends and overcome with gratitude for them and for the experience as a whole. I learned a lot about humility and accepting generosity that day, and I could not be more grateful for those life lessons.

A little piece of paradise during our walk one day...
David has been setting up a donation-run refreshment stand (complete with couches and a hammock) for nearly four years. Absolutely amazing.

Some days it is still difficult to wake up and know that I have got to walk at least 15 miles to keep on track to finish before I fly home on July 25. However, I am amazed at how my body is adapting, and even more-so, how my spirit and attitude are remaining upbeat. The Camino is all about relationships: with oneself, with God, and with others. As I push through the hard moments and soak in the rewarding ones, I feel myself learning to love in new and deeper ways. I thought I was good at loving before, but realized early on that I had a long way to go. Each day I am making progress on breaking down barriers within myself that I use to hide the parts of me I don't like, and I am learning how to love those parts of me. And I am learning to love other people for who they are and where they are, not for where I would like them to be. Definitely a fantastic journey so far, both inside and out.

Until next time, buen camino. 

Paz,

Nico

I just met an incredibly life-giving, selfless person tonight in the most unexpected place:
a restaurant.
His name is Diego, and he is in the middle of the picture above. He waited on us for our 'night out' tonight and won his way into our hearts as he brought us fresh cheese, sausage, and flan after our meal (on him).
Then, after we had made the half-mile trek back to the albergue I realized I had left my water bottle at the restaurant, and so Tim and I decided to walk back to get it. We had barely walked 20 feet when a car sped by honking. Diego burst through the doors with the water bottle, and finished by wishing us luck with huge hugs. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest acts of kindness I have experienced so far, and it thrills me to see the spirit of El Camino so alive and well.