Najera>Santo Domingo de Calzada
There was a big party in Najera! I didn’t sleep well, lots of yelling and cheering and a chant in Spanish that seemed akin to “chug, chug chug”. The party was still going as I walked out of town this morning. Several bars were pumping out techno music as I walked by at 5:30am. There was a sizable crowd smoking cigarettes, drinks in hand and talking in slurred Spanish. I kept on my pilgrim way. I love sunrise on the trail. I look forward to it every day. The walk was more rolling wheat. The 13 miles went by quickly. As it warmed up I listened to the Beatles, and spent about an hour listening to an audio book. Arrived in Najera around 11:30. Found a room, and cleaned up. Took a two hour siesta. About everything shuts down between 2:00 and 5:30, except for bars that usually serve tapas and bocadillos (sandwiches) I had a potato egg tortilla and a ham and cheese with fried egg for lunch. The Santo Domingo cathedral is also a museum and is open mid day! I enjoyed the beauty of the cathedral, but I also liked exploring the narrow corridors connecting the towers. Very DaVinci Code. The rest of the evening will be filled with blogging, laundry, sewing fraying shirt edge and dinner.
Chocolates look great! Hope you sleep better tonight. Here’s more on walking meditation…
What is walking meditation?
Walking meditation is a form of meditation in action.
In walking meditation we use the experience of walking as our focus. We become mindful of our experience while walking, and try to keep our awareness involved with the experience of walking. Actually, there are several different kinds of walking meditation. We’ll just be looking at one of them in detail, although we’ll touch on the others. Once you’ve mastered one form, you’ll easily be able to pick up the others.
Obviously, there are some differences between walking meditation and sitting meditation. For one thing we keep our eyes open during walking meditation! That difference implies other changes in the way we do the practice. We are not withdrawing our attention from the outside world to the same extent that we do when we are doing the Mindfulness of Breathing or Metta Bhavana (development of lovingkindness) practices.
We have to be aware of things outside of ourselves (objects we might trip over, other people that we might walk into) and there are many other things outside of ourselves that we will be more aware of than when we are doing sitting – especially if we sit inside. These include the wind, the sun, and the rain; and the sounds of nature and of humans and machines.
But one of the biggest differences is that it’s easier, for most people, to be more intensely and more easily aware of their bodies while doing walking meditation, compared to sitting forms of practice. When your body is in motion, it is generally easier to be aware of it compared to when you are sitting still. When we’re sitting still in meditation the sensations that arise in the body are much more subtle and harder to pay attention to than those that arise while we’re walking, This can make walking meditation an intense experience. You can experience your body very intensely, and you can also find intense enjoyment from this practice.
From: http://www.wildmind.org/walking/overview
Sharing each day with us means so much. I think your feet are growing… again. xoxo Mom
Isn’t not uncommon for feet to get bigger with this kind of hiking, I’m going to look like a clown!!’ Lol! Having a wonderful time!
Just got home from our trip to North Carolina and Virginia. Found a Huffman House and farm in Virginia listed on the national register. Great gal- hostess Carol Baker gave your mom and I a tour of the house built in 1835. Met her husband, their dog (border collie) and two cats. Great time.
Sounds like a great trip, I’ll try skyping later today if I find wifi
I can catch up on your mending when I get over there, if things can wait. We did 7.5 miles yesterday night. This morning I did 5.5 and if it doesn’t start lightening again, we will hopefully do 8 or 9 tonight. Mona is helping Concetta pack this Friday night. I’m fully packed and my pack is a little less than 10 pounds without water. Every time I see her, Mona mentions another little thing to go in her pack…not really!
10 pounds! Amazing! Your back will appreciate it!
Hi! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Many thanks
Glad to share, the Camino is an amazing experience!