Shoot! Another day that I promised to workout is sliding into dusk. I don’t want to move from my house to go to the gym. It is just 10 minutes down the road, but I would need to climb into workout gear, grab my water bottle, car keys, yoga mat, towel and drive. Then there is the 30 minutes of aerobics (on the bike or eliptical). Then 30 minutes on the mat doing yoga stretches for flexibility and strength. I would rather just walk outside. . . so before it gets any darker, I’ll grab my hiking poles (a Christmas gift from Bill) and walk for 40 minutes.
I will write when I return and let you know how my mood has changed with my walk. . .
After my walk . . . I feel elated, awake even though it is now dark outside. I love walking now that my hip is healed. I can walk easily and without a limp, now. The most I’ve walked since my November surgery is 3.5 miles so I’ve still got a ways to go before I’m ready to think seriously about the Camino again.
I walked the Camino de Santiago in 2008 — three years after my first knee replacement and had no trouble at all. And it was life changing for me (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago). I want to walk it (a portion of its 500 miles) again before I die. I would walk about 150 kilometers. Walking 100 km entitles walkers to an indulgence — yes, there are still such things given with the blessing of the Pope. At least one no longer has to buy them — just walk a portion of the Camino. But I would walk it for the experience — and although it would be different than the first walk, I suspect it would be no less amazing.
I am learning Spanish after 50 years away from Miss Cristoforo’s class at Scott High school. I am surprised at how much I remember — it comes back. And now because it isn’t an academic requirement but rather a challenging thing I want to (in order to communicate with the folks who come to our food cupboard every month), I am loving it. I hope anyone I try to communicate with in my “second tongue” will forgive me for the multiple errors I make in grammar and vocabulary. . .
Wow! I’ve wandered away from the topic of Walking or Working Out. But I am glad I didn’t sit out my walk today. It was worth it. And each step means I’m a bit closer to the Camino de Santiago.
Pilgrimages and Paths 