Today we are in Belorado. It is at the end of stage 10. We walked about 15 miles today. For me, it was very difficult because I have about 7 or 8 blisters. Toni was much more patient with my slowness than I am with hers. The last 5 kilometers, I walked like an old grandma using my walking stick and Toni´s. Yes, at the same time. However, to finish today felt like such an accomplishment!! My blisters are nothing compared to our walking companion of the day whose whole foot is one big blister.

The scenery today looked like a backdrop from a Hollywood film. We often talked about the fact that it was so beautiful that it looked fake. Rolling hills with waves of grain and absolutely beautiful.

Our albergue for today is SUPER nice. It has a pool. So we put our feet in after going to the market this afternoon. It is odd to put your feet in a pool that is on the side of a mountain. We didn´t care where it was because it was the best feeling ever!

The finer things in life:
- putting your feet on the cold floor after walking all day
- taking a shower, even if there is no hot water
- the sounds of nature as you are walking - that´s if you can hear it over Toni´s breathing
- Ibuprofen
- clean clothes
- cafe con leche after two hours of walking in the morning
- breaks along the way - sometimes our last an hour and we sleep in the shade
- the Spanish shade - even when it is blazing hot outside, you freeze in the shade

Spanish specialities:
- at night your shoes shrink
- in the afternoon the kilometers are longer than in the morning

Yesterday while we were eating breakfast outside (which is where we do most of our eating), I told Toni, "I think it is raining. I felt a drop. Unless it is .... yep, felt my head.... bird poop. When you only wash your hair every few days anyway, this makes for a gross morning. Toni and I have laughed for hours about this. She had to wait for it to dry so she could scrape it out of my hair. The Germans say this means good luck. Since then all I have is five new blisters. Call it luck if you will, I call it crap luck.

Serious lessons:
While walking through the vineyards, we talked alot about "I am the vine, you are the branches." We have been thinking about all the farmers we see tending their fields as we walk all day. They go through and look at, prune, and tend to each individual vine. The time this must take. Just think.... the Lord is always looking at, pruning, and tending to us. What if a farmer planted a vineyard and only left nature to take care of it, never going back to check it? most likely it would be a horrible wreck of weeds and bad vines. Now be glad that the Lord doesn´t just leave us to the world. Imagine how horrible we would be. We mess things up enough on our own. Instead, he makes sure that we are ALL okay and that we are continually improved. I think of the song, "He´s still working on me..."

Our challenge:

Do something in the next week that you never dreamed you could. It needs to be somewhat difficult so that you can push yourself through. We will leave the task up to you, but make it hard enough that you feel like you can do anything anytime when you are done.

Much love,

Toni and Mel