happy days
internet is a bit patchy here today - so only a few short thoughts today…
i have been working on acceptance over the past few years, on being content, being satisfied. not sure i succeed, at least not all of the time. but am i happy?
if happiness is a permanent state of mind, i don’t see how anybody could be happy, not all of the time anyway. what if i (or you) end up being sad about something, can i (or you) then be happy at the same time?
… just a quick note on the photo of the mitsubishi montero below: we once owned a mitsubishi pajero, which is the same model car, pajero meaning wanker in spanish. i can see why mitsubishi ended up putting a different model name on their cars for the spanish market…
today i left from belorado and passed through tosantos on the way to villafranca / montes de oca, where i had my desayuno at a lovely little bar/café (@bar_calendula_tosantos on insta), to be surprised by a pilgrim in military uniform on a rather huge horse.
i ended up deviating from the prescribed route today for the first time. prescribed by the stamp sequence of the 35 stamps my sons produced for me, and prescribed by www.gronze.com - on of the great resources available to pilgrims.
but not a problem, i’m flexible that way (not my joints so much anymore). san juan de ortega has no beds available for pilgrims like me, who do not want to reserve days in advance if not absolutely necessary. in the end, i end up reserving a bed on an alternative route into burgos in santovenia de oca.
and it is good that way, because this alternative into burgos is supposed to be more pleasant than the walk through an industrial suburb and past the airport of burgos.
today was at least as foggy as yesterday, so some more black and white photography. again, if you would like to let me know which photos you like, i’d be happy (see i can be happy after all).
it was interesting today to listen closely. at first with the heavy fog, it was a bit like walking around having forgotten, that the cushion from last night was still wrapped around my head. in terms of physics, i’m not quite sure how it works, but maybe the air being heavy with humidity means that sound doesn’t travel as well.
it changed throughout the day, as the sky was clearing up eventually, and also as the quiet start turned into a day full of deep conversation. about careers, about how opportunities can come with challenges, happiness, contentment, acceptance, the past, the future, the present.
at the end, the day returned to another thunderstorm and to clearing up again somewhat for a nice, but cloudy sunset out the window i’m seated at, writing my blurp. off to bed soon.
and off to burgos tomorrow.
people met today:
danielle +1 from adelaide, kim from amsterdam, yannick and antoine from france, another frenchman i had dinner with in nájera but don’t know the name of, carol and ulrike from sydney and berlin, karen and leslie from surrey, connie and dani, paul from frauenfeld, suiza, gabriel from kosovo. all of you - off to bed, another hiking day awaits tomorrow!
