Day 12

Day 11. Belorado to Agés 30.3km.

Day 12. Agés to Burgos 23.5km.

After completing day 12 and arriving in Burgos at around 286.8km traveled of the 790km journey to Santiago (not including the extra 87 to the Finisterre beach), we have now traveled nearly one-third of the journey. It is remarkably humbling to know that it has taken me 12 days to travel the distance that would take a typical car only 2-3 hours.

My body aches and my feet are sore, but not as much as the day before. 

In these 12 days, I have learned a great deal about my body. I have, in my life, never examined my feet with such detail as I have these past days. Each morning I ritualistically rub my feet, examine old blisters, apply necessary bandages, and rub my entire foot with Body Glide. At rest stops, I sit eagerly with my shoes off, cooling my socks and rubbing my feet freed from my chamber boots. In the evenings, back flat against the bed and legs straight in the air, the swollen blood vessels slowly drip down by fatigued legs as my body anticipates the much needed rest. 

In these 12 days, I have managed pain much greater than I thought I could. Beginning each morning, legs still throbbing, they beg for another moment, another day, to rest relaxed in the bed. Standing, I feel my bones rattle awake as my joints prepare for their repetitious bends. Muscles strain and throb having grown to a new shape and size, they too tense up for the prospect of another day. Feet pound the floor, without even having to take a step, as the padding on their soles reverberate with the beat of my heart. With each new day, their song continues to sing of their griefs and woes, but their dissonance weakens as we become more in harmony with their accord. 

My body aches and my feet are sore, but not as much as the day before. 

I am a third complete with my journey, and I know I could not have walked this path alone. Like the story of the Road to Emmaus, I have found myself surprised by the sight of God walking next to me. In the people that I have met, in the towns I have visited, and in the fields I have passed, I have encountered a grace that has greatly filled my soul. I have laughed deeply, filling my lungs with a rich joy as I share conversations and hearts with friends and pilgrims from all over the world. I have been welcomed wholly into a rich hospitality that extends into the foundations of each albergue, church, and street corner. I have walked richly past fields and streams, where the only sounds filling my mind were that of the sound of my feet: left, right, left, right, left, right. 

My body aches and my feet are sore, but not as much as the day before. Tomorrow is another day with a new sun, hills and fields to explore. I know not entirely where I will end up, but I know that I will not make my journey alone. 

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