No tears today, but lumps in the throat. As I left Los Arcos shortly after 7:30 this morning in the brisk air and under a fast moving sky I was overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude. I can't believe how fortunate I am, both in life in general and specifically about being able to do this walk. To have the physical health, freedom, and means to do this is an amazing gift.

And then later in the morning I met and walked with a couple for about an hour. He, a 65 year old former veterinarian with a long pony tail, she an attractive 60-something still-working nurse; ex-hippies living in Washington State educated at Stanford. They had started planning to do the Camino about a year ago, but eight months ago he got Toxic Shock Syndrome. He was hospitalized for three months and given a 25% chance of survival; at one point his heart stopped for 25 minutes and they were just about to give up on CPR when it started beating again and he suffered some brain damage and is almost completely blind. He's had six operations, the last skin graft didn't take, and he still has a hole in his abdomen that his wife patches every night. AND THEY ARE DOING THE CAMINO!!! It was a beautiful thing. They walked excruciatingly slowly, she leading him and warning him about each stone. Some days he takes a taxi and she walks, some days he manages to walk. Is it some kind of coincidence that I meet folks like this, or are there more people out there than I can imagine overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles to lead the lives they desire?

In order to keep my health and spirits strong I've decided to split each of the next two "stages" in two. They're both long and challenging and daunting. So today I did a little shy of 12 miles and I'm in Viana, and tomorrow I should have an easy day, just about a 7 mile walk into Logrono.

Today's walk was more challenging than yesterday's, but no less beautiful, through misty rolling farmlands and a few quaint villages. There were a few really steep and treacherous ups and downs, but thankfully they were short. The sun appeared and disappeared, creating wonderful shape-changing patterns on the fields, threatening clouds neared a couple times but didn't drop even a sprinkle, and the colors were intense against the grey.