Moritanos – Bercianos del Real Camino
13.00 | 271.28 miles
+830 | -859 feet
I began to walk as the sun was struggling to emerge. It’s a shorter day today, so I had plenty of time. I also didn’t want to arrive in Sahagun before 9:00 AM or nothing would be open.
I have such anticipation as I near Sahagun. This is the halfway point of the Camino Frances. It makes me reflect on the milestones in our lives. How do we determine what they are and why they are important?
Some milestones are part of our development: first words, first steps, first day of school. Some are milestones of achievement, such as getting your driver’s license or a graduation. Others mark a life change: marriage, the birth of a child, a career change. And some are arbitrary, like turning 30 or 40.
I wonder, is it anticipation of the milestone or its achievement that is important to us?
I’m not sure what type of milestone halfway on the Camino is. Maybe it’s all of the above.
The Camino holds you as in a womb. I don’t think I’ll really understand the personal development until I emerge. But today is also a milestone of achievement. Arriving in Sahagun, being halfway, may not be a life change but it does mark a before and after point. At the same time halfway is arbitrary. What makes this point truly different than any other the step I have taken (560,000!) or have yet to take?
It does matter to have made it halfway without injury. It also matters that this is not the end.
And maybe that is the importance of a milestone – it is a way to mark the journey knowing that the milestone is not the journey itself.
Beginning with my own bed on September 7th and the airplane on September 8th, I’ve slept in 21 beds in 21 nights. Usually, I don’t sleep well the first night in a new bed, but I guess I’m over that now. 20 more new beds left.
Buen Camino
