Well, I was pretty sure my post today was going to focus on blisters and foot pain and the body's and mind's mechanisms for coping and overcoming. But after about 10 minutes of climbing the steep hill on the way out of Villafranca I nearly caught up to a couple of women walking in front of me and heard random pieces of their conversation. The words included funeral home and cremation and embassy and, well you may have guessed it, one of them was the woman who lost her husband on the first day of their Camino. Not exactly husband--they had lived together 12 years and were as good as married--but not officially. Which was causing all sorts of problems with legal authorities and death certificates and all the officialdom of death.

I ended up walking the ensuing remote 11 mile stretch through the woods with them and it was a delightful encounter, positive and animated and fun. We shared stories and laughter. Both women are devoted world travelers who have walked all over the planet, Peru, the Alps, England, Nepal, the USA. The other woman, a retired school teacher from Long Island, lost her husband a number of years ago and has since set up a non-profit to build schools in Nepal and was there just two weeks before the recent disaster. And the woman who lost her partner is a heavy hitter, formerly dean of the Duke Law School and the recently retired President of the Claremont Colleges, now living in Santa Barbara. Both brilliant and quick and full of stories. Our walk together was a powerful affirmation of life. I stopped in Ages because I was concerned about getting a bed; they had hotel reservations in the next town. We parted all thanking each other for the company and hoping to see each other further down the road.

I guess writing about blisters will have to wait. By the way, the guy who died--indeed it was a heart attack and indeed his body was cremated--was named Larry.