Every morning before we start to walk, we gather in a circle and I pull out a little blue cloth bag filled with quotations I’ve collected about pilgrimage and walking, growth and life. I printed them out before I left Santa Cruz on stiff oaktag at Kinko’s and spent a couple of evenings in front of the TV cutting them out into little squares or rectangles. I sorted them into piles and clipped them together, one for each person, for each day of our journey.
At 8 am, before we walk, I pass around the bag, everyone reaches in and pulls out a quote to carry with them into their day. Eventually these inspirational quotes are pasted into our blue Camino journals, which are filling with quick sketches, artwork, color wheels, mementos, placemat maps of our route, responses to writing prompts, lists I’ve asked then to make (Examples: “Make a list of things you are grateful for from the time you get up in the morning until tonight.” “What are the questions you’re living with?” “Make a list of things you smelled today.” “What’s on your emotional/spiritual bucket list?”), and whatever else each person wants to record.
After the quotes are passed around and before we stretch, I read a poem out loud, one of a long list of poems I curated before coming to Spain, poems that have to do with hardship, life, transformation, and walking. I keep the poems on the Notes app in my phone and each morning I choose one that seems to be the right fit for the group that day.
This was the poem I read this morning. As I told the group, I chose it because it reminded me of the special day we had just spent together: 
Spring in Fall
It feels right to walk
through naked trees
with our naked hearts
and our naked hands
and thrill in the sound
of wind in dry grass
and delight in how quickly
the clouds are shredded.
You could say, it’s just a day,
but perhaps a day such as this
spent practicing awe and openness
is what changes everything.
You step out of yourself.
Suddenly, anything could happen.
–Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Today we walked from Melide (kilometer 52.7) to Ribadiso de Baixo (kilometer 41.6.)
Since we are counting down the kilometers to Santiago, this means we are now 41.6 km from our final destination.
As we left Melide this morning, there were many other pilgrims on the road. As we get closer to Santiago, the numbers are growing. We can feel the energy gathering—everyone is heading to the same place. Here are some images, taken by me and photographers in our group, of our walk today. Take the time to read the captions and you will learn a little more about our journey.
