Day 17 and 18

Day 17
“The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the road has gone and I must follow if I can.” JRR
Known as The Walking Song by Bilbo Baggins and used in both The Hobbitt and Lord of the Rings. It talks of journeys.
On this day Lindsay and I left out of Najera leaving Noel and Mitchell behind to get David on a bus. David’s Achilles’ tendon was really bothering him and we all knew he shouldn’t be hobbling on it. David would meet us in Santo Domingo. Mitchell and Noel would catch up somewhere along the way or in Santo Domingo.

We met up along the way. It was a good walking day but a hot day with one good hill. At the top of that hill there was this guy under an umbrella with all kinds of cold drinks and fruit…a welcome relief. A shady, and sunny area to relax in for pilgrims for a few minutes before walking on past a golf resort to get a cold beer and relax. It was a welcome relief.

We made it into Santo Domingo and found our accommodations and relaxed before beginning to explore. We went to have some coffee, wine , lunch at a place down the street after our showers. A man came up with a dog who claimed to have walked the Camino 70 times. He is certainly old enough and thin enough. Without any request from us he said something to David about his blisters and pulled out s bag with anointments. David administered the anointment and then sat in the sun like the guy said and his blisters were better. The man had a gift or a knack for healing. Call it what you like but he there was something there; there was also the fact that he enjoyed drinking a little too much. But that was no reason for discounting or discouraging his gifts.

We walked around Santo Domingo and enjoyed the sights and sounds, the people and food.

Ultimately we ended up staying another day in Santo Domingo. David was healing and we wanted to see if he might be able to walk on with us. And our friends from the Netherlands were returning home the following day.
So for the purposes of simplicity I have combined Day 17 and 18.
Day 18

“The first step is the hardest…whether its getting out of bed early in the morning or changing clothes after a long day of work to go ride, “the first step is the hardest!”
This was going to be true for Lindsay and me saying goodbye to companions that we walked with from nearly the beginning. We had made other friends. But many of them had gone on or already headed home. I had this experience the last time I walked the Camino.
Many people face this feeling in their day to day lives going to work or facing challenges or making changes. Taking that first step is so difficult and challenging. But also necessary.

We had a good day enjoying Santo Domingo but we all knew that the next day we were going to have to make the journey on…and take that first step moving on to where the path leads.
Buen Camino.