Halfway Check In And Hints Of Homesickness (Day 19)
I spent last evening enjoying a meal with some Seattle friends in the town square of Sahagun. We then did a little exploring in this amazing little town.
Inside the monastery where we got our halfway certificates.
Would’ve been better if the pilgrim was on a unicorn but still a solid mural
I quite like this pilgrim sculpture. Probably my favorite so far. I’m really bad about taking pictures so trust me when I say I’ve seen about ten and all were cool, except…..
What the absolute fuck?
The hike from Sahagun to where I am tonight was great. Kind of boring at this point but great.
Rested and ready. My room had air conditioning last night!!
It started with our favorite - dirt fields.
But then we had some green fields, and that’s exciting.
And almost the entire hike was along a tree lined trail so the sun never became an issue. Heavenly for this stretch of road!
I walked alone today and all in all it was kind of a lazy day. The hike was only 12 miles so I got a late start and got in early. That’s even with a 45 minute coffee stop along the way. Tonight seemed like a good time to do a check in on myself now that I’m on the back half of my journey.
Physical Condition:
Feet are doing pretty well. Michael Buble has ruptured a little but I keep him clean and taped and he’s stable. The rest of the feet are sore at the end of the day but no signs of blisters at this point
Legs are doing much better. Stretching each morning and evening is doing wonders. The ibuprofen doesn’t hurt either. No soreness at night anymore and if I’m being honest, they are cut. It’s kind of crazy. I’ll post thirst trap pics later.
Back and shoulders are sometimes a little sore from the pack at the end of a long day but honestly I forget I’m wearing the pack about 3/4 of the time now.
Beard has gone completely feral. It’s three different colors and the neck portion is catching up to the face portion in length. I think I’m going to keep it.
Farmers tan is nothing short of epic. From a distance naked I would look like I was wearing a white wrestling unitard. Those pics later too (but only to the paid members of the site).
Overall I don’t know if there’s been any weight loss or not and honestly I don’t really care. One thing I can say though, I’m stronger. I can feel it once I get going in the morning. After about a kilometer or two I can just chug along. Right around 25km is where I will start to flag a little but I would say my endurance is double what it was.
Mental Condition
Pretty good overall. Mornings are a little difficult to get woken up and motivated to go. I think that’s just a little exhaustion from going every day since I landed.
I’m getting hints of homesickness. I don’t mean missing Michele, Seaerra, the animals and my friends. That’s been there since day one and I anticipate that will stay with me throughout. I think that’s just the way it is when you’re away from the those you love. I mean overall Portland homesickness. I’m not talking about restaurants or certain foods (except Grindhouse Coffee, which is the best coffee in the world and I miss it everyday - shout out to Amanda and staff!!!). I guess what i probably miss is some sense of familiarity. Obviously everyday for me right now is nonstop new places and things. That’s exciting and I’m not complaining one bit. But if I’m being honest (and I might as well) I do miss seeing things I know. I miss knowing exactly where I am, what’s around the corner and what I’ll see. I also think it’s harder to appreciate something if you aren’t away from it for a while. I have realized i love where I live. I’ll be back soon enough. I’ve still got things to do here in Spain.
So that’s the status as of today. I’m holding steady. Tomorrow might be another hot one but it’s flat again so I’m lucky there. Only about 12 miles again, piece of cake. And tomorrows town has a laundromat!!! Hell to the yeah.
As a pancake
Cat (because my brother is counting)
