Back in May, on the foodie tour of Savannah that was part of the Blobaum family reunion, our tour guide introduced me to the phrase, “Shit yeah.”
It was in reference to Zunzi’s sandwiches (their phone number is actually that phrase spelled out on the telephone keypad) but the phrase gave me a theme for my 61st year. (Sigh. On your 60th birthday you begin your 61st year. Think about when we celebrate a kiddo’s first birthday.)
When I graduated from Saint Paul School of Theology, I said to myself, “Shit yeah.”
When I chest-pressed 45 pounds for the first time, I said to myself, “Shit yeah.”
And when I walked 23 miles in northern Spain, scaling a mountain in the middle, I said to myself, “Shit yeah.”
I’m hoping 2018 will continue to be a “Shit yeah” kind of year.
About that mountain … Today’s hike included a stroll up (and down) Alto de Mostelares, which the guidebook describes as “the highest of the peaks you will encounter along the Meseta, but it is not as difficult as it appears from Castrojeriz.” I had just read these reassuring words to Rich when he spotted the sign that said 12 degree grade over 1,050 meters. His gulp was audible, but I thought, “Shoot, how bad could 12 degrees be?”
Well, one of his friends has called this trip “The Spanish Death March.” And about halfway up the mountain, after passing the second memorial marker for a pilgrim who died on this journey, I was starting to think he was right.
And because the Camino variation of Newton’s Third Law is always in effect, when it came time to descend, the grade was 18 degrees over 350 meters. Even when it’s paved instead of studded with rocks, an 18 degree grade sucks.
Math and physical exertion. It’s a journalist’s dream come true.
Rich and I at San Anton. Yes, that’s a woman with a wheeled backpack to the right of the photo.
Early in the day, we passed the ruins of the monastery and pilgrim hospital of San Anton, which dates to the 11th century. This stretch of the Camino offers a calm sense of healing, and was one of the most meaningful moments of the day.