Thursday, May 2, 2024
Today lived up to its billing. It was -- simply put -- the toughest day on the Camino. At 28.35 km and over 11 hrs and 51 min it was the longest day in both distance and in time. We also had snow, sleet, and rain. So it was the toughest in weather, and the terrain was brutal with 9 km of ascent followed by over 18 km of steep descent over rocky trails.
We decided to wake up at 5am (an hour earlier than normal) so that we could get out at a good time. It worked. We left the albergue about an hour ahead of what we normally do. Right around 6:20am. Because of the early start we were able to watch the sunrise. It was breathtaking and put us all in a great mood. When the snow started falling, it seemed to just add to the magic of it all.
Today we made it to the famous Cruz de Ferro (Iron Cross). For over 2,000 years (longer than The Camino has been The Camino) it has been a sacred place on the mountain where travelers have left rocks to mark the path and as a symbol of gratitude or penance or hope. In this way the Camino is like an extended and very intense fast -- and the rock at the Cruz de Ferro is like your purpose in the fast.
As is the case everywhere on this journey, the Cruz de Ferro was not quite what I expected. Everyone in our family had chosen a rock in Michigan, before we left, as a symbol of something they’d like to leave at the Cruz de Ferro. I’ve kept my rock in my pack ever since. So have most of the kids. Betty did as well. But somehow this morning she couldn’t find her rock. It must have been lost in the backpack shuffle.
When we got to the Cruz, the kids took up most of our attention. But I did have a moment in the sharing of the experience and the photos to say a prayer and toss my rock onto the pile. It was a simple and sweet experience.
Oh, and here is another tender mercy:
My rock on the Cruz de Ferro, my purpose, was to find more peace and harmony in our family. We have an amazing family, but at times our passions get the best of us, and we argue. I’ve really been trying over the past months to be a better parent and to help foster more peace in our home.
Well, ten minutes hadn’t passed since Cruz de Ferro when River told me she wanted to play a game. This happens a lot. Usually her game is “Name five Disney Princesses,” or “Name Five Colors,” or “Name Five Letters.” So I asked her what she wanted to play.
Right at that moment we passed a Camino sign with the yellow arrow pointing the way, and it had been vandalized (as is super common). But this graffiti said “Army of Peace.”
So right as River asks me what game I want to play one of the kids reads the sign and says “Army of Peace,” and River thought that was the name of the game, and she said: “Let’s play that.”
So we started making up a game. At first it was something like “First person to start an argument loses.”
That led to the entire descent being filled with moments where someone would start to say something -- a criticism or complaint -- and then the others would remind them: “Army of Peace!”
It actually worked really well :)
We also added to the game by taking turns saying nice things about each other.
It’s a good game. I’m sure we will still have to work on the contention, but during the toughest stretch of hiking on the Camino, it was a little nod from God to let me know that He had heard my prayers.
After the Cruz de Ferro, the trail makes a steep descent. Over the next nearly ten miles I believe we lost around 3,000 ft of elevation. The terrain was rocky. The weather turned rainy, and everything got a bit slippery. It was the toughest hiking we’ve done so far. With River on my shoulders I was just praying not to fall.
Betty’s feet started hurting again, and our pace really slowed. By the end, every step was tough. My feet were sore. My Achilles tendons were sore. My quads were shaking with each step.
But here is the amazing thing. The kids were great. Ian had about a 20 minute stretch where he was super grumpy and at one point after he turned his ankle for the second time he tossed his poles and sat and had a little moment. But after few minutes he got back up and kept going.
In the end, the kids did an amazing job of hiking. They were in good spirits. They were smiling and talking with each other. They would all hike ahead of Betty and River and me, and then sit on the trail and wait. And every time I saw them I just felt so proud.
I know this is long, but I wanted to mention one more thing. It’s a thought that came to me when I read a recent Facebook comment from Carolyn Blosil in which she said how impressed she was that the kids hadn’t just given up and said “I’m done!”
The truth is, at some point on this trip each one of us has said the words “I’m done!” And it’s been pointed out to me by everyone that they did not sign up for this. It wasn’t their dream vacation. They kind of got roped into it.
But then the other day, on our walk into Astorga, we read Mosiah 3:19, one of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon. It says:
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
