Najera

 I walked from Ventosa to Najera this morning for about 3.5 hours.  That seems to be the maximum that I can do comfortably and even then I am trudging by the end.  Now I’m sitting by the banks of the river in the sunshine at a cafe and am plotting my next move as I can’t check into my hotel for an hour and a half..

I’m thankful to be here and moving my body.  It’s just challenging enough, and now that the weather has cooled down, it is more enjoyable.  The other day I must have spent too much time in the sun or have had too little water or something because when I arrived at my destination, I began feeling cold and shivering.  I sorted myself out, though.  

This is definitely a different experience than my last Camino.  I find myself mostly uninterested in learning about the other pilgrims.  I’m more focused on the meditation of movement and on writing.  I’m thinking about taking care of my body and am paying attention to the small details of the landscape, buildings, and culture.  I like spending a bit more time in each town.  

Today I’m marveling that by the time I arrive at my destination, Spain is just waking up.  There’s a brief window between coffee and wine.  Really, really brief.  And dinner rarely starts until 8pm.  I often wonder whether Spaniards are awake early on and just not out on the streets.  How can an entire culture have a different circadian rhythm from me?  It’s fascinating.

Looking forward to a lazy day today now that I have finished walking.  I believe there’s a street market.  I need to try to locate that.