Hello everyone! I am excited to share some news with you all – it’s bittersweet, really. Today my Dad left ahead of me, and an hour later I started walking to catch up to him. Just before we reached the village of Sansol, we met up, and my Dad proposed a new plan.
Since the last few days have really beaten us down with 10-12 hours start to finish, late nights, little sleep, and hardly enjoying what’s around us, he suggested we continue on doing only half days. This would mean approximately 12km per day, rather than 20-24km. (Or even 28-30 as some days suggest). This way we won’t be so exhausted, can stop walking during the hottest part of the day, and actually enjoy the country we are in. The downside is that we won’t be able to complete the whole Camino at that pace. So, we decided we’ll do what we can, and then come back in 1-2 years to finish where we left off.
Ultimately, this is the best decision for us, despite not finishing. It would be a shame to spend all this time here yet only see the pavement because you’re so focused on each step you can’t look up, or you’re too exhausted to explore the buildings and historical sites around us. We don’t want to spend the trip being miserable and overly exhausted, therefore, this is how we’ll move forward.
Today we only walked 7km, stopped in Sansol, and have enjoyed a slow afternoon and evening. We napped, got organized early in the day, and rested. We had dinner with a friend, Paul, who we’ve been seeing almost daily for about 4-5 days. We waded in a little pool to cool off our feet after walking. We listened to music the hostel had playing that reminded us of home. It was really quite a relaxing day that we truly needed to rejuvenate.
Tomorrow we set off for Viana, about 11km’s away. It’s supposed to be fairly warm, so hopefully we get finished early to avoid most of the intense heat. Very suddenly I have developed 4 blisters despite working hard to prevent them. So that’ll be a big focus for the coming days – keeping them small and preventing more. Also – I saw my Dad in shorts for the first time in my life that I can remember. You know he’s desperate to shed some wait from his pack when he unzips the bottom part of his pants off to wear shorts instead!
We feel at peace with our decision, and I know you all will support us! So please enjoy our updates as we continue on the pilgrimage, and know that your prayers are still extremely appreciated. We will finish in 1-2 years and be sure to continue sharing the journey then, so you can carry on to the end with us.
Thank you all! You are loved and missed.
Buen Camino!
Hannah + Tony
Excelent decision Hanna and Tony! Congratulations on knowing your limits and understanding the importance of enjoying and celebrating the experience together. I know it is dissapointing for you both, but in the end and when you look back on this, and hopefully, part 2, you will cherrish the hapiness of this precious time together, not thinking of how tired and sore and miserable you were.
Spend more time on the blog to create great memories that you will remind you of where you were and why. Unfortunately, you will forget a lot of these things.
Tell Tony I said he looks like Merv Griffin and that you should put him to work writing some posts as well.
Cheers guys, and may God bless you both.
Patrick
Thank you for your support! We definitely felt doing the half days was much better for us. And thankfully it’s not a race, so it was just fine to be going at our own pace and taking as much time as we wanted! Also, my Dad laughed when he heard you said he looked like Merv Griffin, especially since I had no idea who that was! Haha
I totally support your decision to enjoy the journey. You are both in my prayers 🙏.
Thank you for your support and prayers!
That’s a great decision and the right one for you both I’m sure. It’s all about the journey and the memories you make, not just the destination, which I’m sure you will get to down the road. Keep on walking your own Camino. I’ve really enjoyed following your walk and thanks for posting. I relive my path from 2019 when I see your photos. I’ll keep you both in my prayers. Hugs and God Bless.
Thank you! Thankfully it’s not a race, so we felt plenty of ease slowing down our days and only doing as much as we thought was good for us. And everyone has been so supportive of that, which is lovely! The atmosphere of the Camino is extremely welcoming and loving. I’m so glad you are able to reminisce about your own journey!