Good in Goodbye

     So today is a day of mixed emotions. Over the past week I have befriended the most amazing people ever! Ever since St. Jean Pied de Port, I have grown closer and closer with Elizabeth, Suzy, Chris, Gary, Isabelle, Tenneth, Kathleen, Mora, Mary, Judy, Cheri, and David. Along the way I have met so many people from all over the world, including my new friend Emma (PEI). It is nice to  form terrific relationships with each person. However, today may be the last day I get to see all of my friends. As they walk on to Los Arcos, I a staying here in Estella for a well deserved break to explore the beautiful city and soak in the crystal clear river. As much as my heart is telling me to move on and be with all of my friends, I know that it is best for me to stay put for a day and give my body time to rest before I continue walking. But, I am excited to have some time to myself. Originally I had planned to walk the camino alone, but as you learn along the way, plans change. And as much as I am going to miss all of these great people I have become friends with, I am looking forward to the solitude. and who knows, maybe we will meet up later down the road. My walk today was very beautiful. 22km through the beautiful Spanish countryside, walking along almond trees and vineyards! My feet were fairly sore today because I have some pretty big blisters right near the bottom of my toes from all of the down hill walking. But, with a few pads and bandaids, I was eager to get on with my day. My pace was much slower so Elizabeth and my fellow pilgrim friends went ahead of me, but it was so peaceful walking alone. The advice I would give anyone that plans to walk the camino is that you have to remember to look backwards. At one point I glanced back (thinking there was a wolf stalking me) and I witnessed the most beautiful sunrise! I was wonderstruck by the simple beauty that the camino has to offer. And all throughout the day, I made sure to look behind me and admire the view. What i most enjoy about walking by myself is that i get to choose what I want to do. If I want to stop for a glass of orange juice, then I don´t have to worry about arranging plans to meet up later with people. If I want to sit in a park for a few hours and watch the locals live their day to day lives, then that´s what I do. One of the highlights of my walk today was when I was like 2km away from Estella (the city I was planning on stopping in). A Spansih couple I had seen of and on throughout the past week was stopped by a large pool of water soaking their feet. I walked by, smiled, and said ¨buen camino¨, but to my surprise, they stopped me in my tracks and invided me to sit with them. So, I took of my shoes and stuck my feet in thr ice water. WHAT AN AMAZING FEELING AFTER A LONG DAY OF WALKING! Our conversation was very broken because of the language barrier, but the guy showed me how to fix my blisters and even dried my feet of with HIS towel. It is little things like this along the way that really make the camino what it is. Back at home, you don´t get complete strangers offering you their food and medical expertice. And despite the fact that neither of us understand one another, we were laughing and eating cherries by the river!
     Later in the afternoon when I arrived in Estella, I met up with Emma and Kathleen who invited me to join them for dinner. They were planning on cooking so I was really excited to be back in the kitchen! We walked down to the supermarket to get supplies for our dinner, went back to the albergue, and sat in the sun doing what else, poping blisters and complianing about the pain! Good times, good times. After our little siesta, it was time for dinner. Because Kathleen was generous enough to buy all of the groceries, I decided to cook, with Emma´s assistance of course. We had a fantastic meal of pasta in a vegatable and beef tomato sauce, with wine, bread, and more wine. For dessert, fresh strawberries and whip cream. They were all amazed with my cooking, so that made me feel quite special. After a few corny jokes, a broken wine bottle, and a fair amount of spilt wine, it was time to call it a night. I am going to have a relaxing day in Estella tomorrow...and I will probably visit the wine fountain a few dozen times. But I am going to miss all of my amazing friends. I hope we all stay in touch and maybe have a camino reunion in a few years time. If any of you are reading my blog, thank-you for making my first week on the camino a  memorable one! I wish I could continue on with you all, but the camino is a person journey and we all have our own schedules that we need to follow. I am certain our paths will cross at somepoint in the near future. Bye for now!