We arrived to the city of O'Pedrouzo with the intention staying the night. An hour later, we decided we would walk at least another 2-5km in order to shave some mileage off for the next day. When we arrived to the city of Amenal, we had the intention of stopping for the day in their beautiful hotel. After realizing it was more than we wanted to spend on an albergue on the camino, we asked the gentleman working the bar and the hotel reception how far we were from the next albergue. He gave us two options. The first option was to go back 3km to the city of O'Pedrouzo or walk another 14km. Refusing to go back on our steps, Libby and I decided to trek along. We had work so hard to get to that point, we did not want to go back on our steps.
On the way, the day got warmer, the hills got higher and our bags felt heavier. At many points, we had to fight battles between our body and our mind. I know carrying a bag that weighed over 15 kilos was no easy task but what got me through it was surrendering.
I surrendered to the beauty around me and to the task at hand. I knew I was tired. I was aware that my feet hurt and my bag was heavy. But when I let go of all the issues I has created in my mind, the extra kilometres seemed effortless.
We arrived 38km later to Monte de Gozo, 4 km away from Santiago de Compostela. I felt excited and accomplished to have arrived to our destination. Tomorrow, we will get to sleep in and roam into our final destination. The lesson I learned today is one that I can use in many situations in my life. Although the challenges and obstacles made add up in the mind which controls how the body feels, I can choose to surrender to the task at hand. You will gain so much more if you just let go of everything you see as a problem. Those issues are fears you have constructed in your mind. Let them go, and the reward is exponentially better than you can imagine. It's a question of mind over matter. And the main idea is to surrender to the task.
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