Day 33- NavarrenxI will take responsibility for leaving the charger adaptor in Pomps and thus only providing a minimal report yesterday. But the saying “the Camino will provide” again turned up trumps.
Firstly, the manager of the Gite went out of her way to assist us by phoning back to Pomps and explaining in French to our host there what was missing. (Imagine Enda and I trying to do this with our limited command of the language.) She then rang Transports Claudine and arranged for them to call into Pomps, pick up the adaptor and carry it 2 stages to Navarrenx. Around lunchtime today Enda received a text message from her saying that the adaptor had been collected and would be waiting for us when we arrived at Navarrenx. We are truly grateful pilgrims. There were no shops open at the previous village last night, or again this morning. The only place today where one could buy lunch was closed. So after 20km of walking we were feeling rather hungry, but once again the Camino stepped to the fore. We just happened to be passing an isolated farm house on a largely deserted route when a small white delivery van dropped in with the daily bread delivery for the farmer. We were able to buy a fresh baguette from the driver! It was precisely the same time we received the text message about the adaptor. Again we are grateful pilgrims. So tonight we are safely in Navarrenx. The countryside becomes even more beautiful each day and the richness in the wild flowers is astounding. Beautiful green hillsides and many small forests encompass us. Today we ate our late lunch at a table alongside a fountain and a small shrine depicting Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. Enda was truly amazed when we went past a magnificent home where she observed what appeared to be a lawn mower (without the handle for pushing it) running around the lawn without a human in sight. On closer inspection it couldn’t cut grass and appeared to be either a very large remotely controlled toy with someone using it to amuse the pilgrims; or an experiment in robotic control as the device had to work its way around the many obstacles it encountered. Only three days left of walking and we reach St Jean Pied de Port. So it is time for us to ask ourselves some searching questions before we finish, as to why we walk a second Camino, what lessons have we learnt and what do we hope to bring back to everyday life. Our current feelings are somewhat different to when we were approaching Santiago last year. Three days out, there was wonderful excitement, not only for the two of us, but amongst all around us, as they approached their goal of the tomb of St James. Even for those with no religious affiliation, the excitement was equally obvious. On this Camino there is no beacon of Santiago drawing us in, (like the lines on the shell of St James) to the centre; so those feelings of intense excitement are not present. It is a much more relaxed form of spirituality we are experiencing. There is no desire for us to cease our walking, we would just love to keep going and continue the feelings of oneness with the tranquillity of our pilgrimage. Perhaps looking at it another way, the Camino is teaching there is no end to a true pilgrimage. I hope this is true and that our pilgrimage continues through the time remaining for us.
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