Walking the Kumano Kodo

Today was a day to reflect on my journey.  My primary feeling was gratitude and thankfulness for the opportunity and privilege to be able to walk these routes.  I know most people won’t have the opportunity for such a journey. I am lucky to have Cindy, friends and family supporting me.  I have good health and that is also a blessing.  If others have the opportunity, I would strongly recommend any part of either of the two pilgrimage routes.   The hike today was advertised as easy, but I didn’t find that to be the case.  It was another day of lots of steps and steep slopes.  However, not being in a hurry, it still made for a pleasant day.  The rain was predicted and, sure enough, it came in for the last hour of the hike. There were lots of young people on the trail today and each of them had much more energy than me.  Still, it was fun to chat with them as long as I could keep up.  This is my last night ...

Today was a beautiful day for a walk.  Our morning started early with breakfast at 6:00am.  Then all of us pilgrims hurried to the local bus stop.  It was time for a life choice.  Which stop would you pay for and how long did you want to walk today?  Time to choose and then live with your decision.  I chose the 8-hour version and soon would come to question my sanity.  Will Smith tells the story of his dad’s wall and how he and his brother were forced to rebuild it.  It was a huge wall that took over a year to build and they worked on it every single day.  One day they were grumbling about how much work it was and that they would never finish it.  Their dad overheard their discussion.  “Don’t focus on the wall!  Just focus on a single brick”, yelled their dad. Today’s hike was a wall for me!  So many steps up the mountain and I knew that meant an equal amount coming ba...

  Last night's dinner was fabulous!  We started with some sashimi and a personal beef hotpot.  Then came a plate of Spanish tapas to celebrate the Dual Pilgrimage and the two countries.  Dessert was cheesecake and coffee.  Afterwards, we enjoyed some Spanish guitar music, played by our host.  I was seated with a woman who has also walked the Camino de Santiago.  Today started with a fascinating breakfast conversation with a woman who works for nonprofits.  (Let’s just say her life has more challenges lately.)  She is from Minnesota and we agreed that way too many Americans need to get out and experience more of the world.  She is accompanying a friend on her first trip to Asia.  So many things here are hard to appreciate until you experience them.  Like why people will stand and wait for a traffic walk sign when there are no cars around on a street that is only a few feet wide. ...

The weather has been beautiful the past few days and I had a wonderful sleep on Sunday night.  Last night, however, it was hot so sleeping was difficult, and then the rain started around 3:00 AM.  My train tickets were prepaid and a bit confusing for me too.  However, this morning I was reminded of one of my favorite Ray Brook sayings:  “Attitude is everything!”  Starting this adventure could be the most challenging part.  Lord, let my attitude be positive and focused on the privilege of this journey. Thus far, the Kumano Kodo is a lot steeper and more natural than the Camino de Santiago.  Today’s walk was entirely in the forest and only emerged in the town where I am staying.  The common part of the journey is the lovely people!  I started noticing backpacks when I left Osaka and then the bus was full of pilgrims.  I am the only American that I know of, so far, and most of the folks are from Europ...