My new hiking shoes arrived in the mail yesterday, another pair of my beloved Keens. Immersing myself in those recaps kept my heart in England through the fall and winter and even into the spring. And yes, I walked for two weeks on a fabulous trail in England, but a long-distance walk is different than a pilgrimage. The last time I was there was , when I walked the Camino de San Salvador , and then continued from Oviedo onto the Norte to almost walk into Santiago.
So yes, I have another big walk coming up. After the Aragones, I have some options. Since the route ends in Puenta La Reina, it would be so easy to just continue for awhile on the Frances the first Camino I walked, back in Ahh, the Camino del Norte.
And the particular aspects that make the Norte so special have been tugging at me for the past year or so. I was tempted to walk it again last summer but settled on the Pennine Way instead. My summer planning felt very delayed this year, and it took me a long time to decide exactly what I wanted to do. I still want this particular combination, but I want other things, too. I want to go to Africa, I want to try to climb Kilimanjaro. Is it maybe time to try something new, while I still have the chance to try something new?
Maybe, but maybe I do want one last European summer, for this stage in my life. One more long walk, one more retreat in the mountains of a small French village. I wonder if Homer will be around, if he will remember me and want to take walks with me. I wonder who I will meet, if I will see any old friends, I wonder at all the new connections I might make.
I wonder if I will get a blister, if I will find a suitable walking stick, if I will drink red wine or cold beer or both? I want to just capture a moment and write about that moment, and in doing that, tell the story of my Camino. My porch door is open and a pleasant breeze is blowing in and through the room.
